Placid Bodies
by royalstandard
Summary: Captain Hook captures a wolf for its prized pelt only to realize the next morning that he's actually captured Red Riding Hood.
1. Chapter 1

"Oy, that will make a mighty fine coat."

The pirates laughed heartily at the joke as they stood in a circle around the panting creature. Killian raised his eyebrows and smirked slightly at the joke, his arms crossed over his chest. His black hair ruffled in the breeze as his ship cut through the water with what would be alarming speed to anyone unaccustomed to sea travel.

"Should we kill it, cap'n?" asked Smee, his voice bouncy and excited like always. Waving his good hand dismissively, the captain sniffed.

"Leave it for now. The pelt will still be good once we reach the shore."

The crew growled, hoping to see a show and not getting what they'd wanted, and dispersed, leaving the captain and his first mate alone.

"I don't want blood on my decks," the captain added, glancing over at his first mate with a wry smile on his lips, "It will be much easier to kill the thing on land."

"Aye," Smee agreed, rubbing his hands together like an excited little imp.

The two men stood watching the panting beast in the hold below, too worn and beaten from its recent ordeal to bother lifting its head to snarl at them. They stood in silence for a moment before the captain raised his eyebrows and glanced pointedly at Smee.

"Well? I'm sure you have better things to do than stand around gaping at a dog."

"Aye, Hook. Aye." He scurried away, leaving Killian Jones - now better known as Captain Hook since that reptilian sorcerer had rid him of his left hand, forcing him to replace it with a metal hook - to look back down at the exhausted beast below his feet. After shutting the metal hatch over the hold, closing the beast in its prison, he smiled to himself and walked off to sleep the night away. He may have not found a way to get his revenge for what the Dark One had done to him, but he had bagged himself a rather valuable pelt that would bring him in enough gold to expand his search.

* * *

Red woke as from a nightmare, finding herself cold and alone in the darkness. The last thing she remembered was night falling over the snowy landscape outside the home she shared with her Granny. Now, she was dressed in the tattered rags of her clothes, leaving her mostly naked hence the reason she was so cold. The darkness was so thick her human eyes couldn't focus on anything nearby. Reaching out, she felt around for something, wondering if she should shift so she could see better. She decided against it, figuring her more vulnerable human side would be the best thing for her captors to see if they came looking for her. If she needed it, she could change so quickly it wouldn't ultimately matter anyway.

As she reached out, her hands didn't touch anything at first. Inching forward, her fingertips brushed cool metal, and she realized she was in a cage of some sort. Or better yet, a cell by the feel of the wooden wall behind her.

That was when she realized the room was swaying.

Thankfully, the wolf within her gave her its balance and she didn't get seasick easily or she would have barfed at the rocking motion of the room and the darkness which prevented her from seeing anything past the end of her nose. How could a place be so infinitely dark anyway?

Suddenly, light flooded into the darkness, and she yelped, covering her eyes from the harsh glare. The pain of a migraine filled her head from the glaring light and she shrunk back to the wooden wall at the back of the cell, squinting against the light streaming in from above as booted feet echoed down a stairwell entering the hold of the ship where she was imprisoned.

Hook rested his right hand on his sword and smiled, pleased with himself. He had managed to cage the most beautiful wolf pelt he'd ever seen. He had decided overnight it would make him rich beyond his wildest dreams, and he would finally get his revenge on Rumplestiltskin. Victory had already begun settling into his bones as he calmly descended the stairs into the hold of his ship.

"You will bring me a pretty gold coin at the market," he spoke, knowing the wolf couldn't very well respond but feeling giddy enough to gloat anyway.

Turning on his heel as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stepped out of the circle of light created by the sunlight streaming through the hatch and stopped short. His breath caught in his throat, and all of his good mood dissipated in an instant.

Red stood from where she'd been cowering against the wooden wall, drawing herself up as he took her in. Granny had taught her to be proud of who and what she was, even if others hated the wolf. They loved Red, and she was an honorable person even if she was a werewolf. She had been hunted and beaten and tortured, but she'd also loved and befriended and been taken in as part of a group with Snow and Charming and their friends. She wouldn't allow this seafaring villain to take that away from her simply because she was alone and out of place.

Hook stared gaping at the girl, not expecting what he saw in the least. "You... you're not...who are you?" he asked in an accusing tone. How dare she steal his wolf? He didn't imagine that she _was_ the wolf. "What did you do with it?" he growled, advancing on her as his irritation rose. Everything he wanted had been at his fingertips - wealth, power, vengeance, revenge for Milah's death - and this girl had taken that all away.

"What did I do with what?" Red asked bluntly. She was a bit confused by his reaction. How could he not know she was the one in the cell? What was he thinking?

Then she realized. This pirate had captured a wolf, not a young maiden. She saw the greed in his eyes, the loss of power and money, as he reached the bars and gripped them in his right hand. She smiled then, satisfied that she had managed to dash his avarice however unintentionally. Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared innocently at him, ignoring the tatters of her clothing which clung to her curvaceous form.

"The wolf... it was right here..." he answered, looking around the cell with a hopeless look in his eyes. Then realization seemed to dawn, and he looked up at her, his lips curving into a smile. She supposed most women found him attractive. She could imagine him giving them that rascal grin, his blue eyes twinkling, and she saw the women falling into his bed. He was a pirate after all; there was a certain dangerous appeal to a pirate that most women could not resist. Perhaps it was the wolf within her which kept her mostly immune, but she simply glared at him as he attempted his charm on her.

"You are the wolf," he stated obviously. She wanted to roll her eyes, but she refrained. Stating the obvious wasn't exactly the game she wanted to play. Actually, she preferred the 'release her to go home' game over this one, but she would have to play her cards right if that was ever going to happen.

"Aren't you clever? It would seem to make sense if you cage a wolf and wake up in the morning to a woman that they would be two parts to the same creature, would it not?" she asked sarcastically, leaning back against the wooden side of the boat with an exhausted sigh.

The pirate glowered at her and crossed his arms, tapping his index finger on his scruffy chin as he contemplated her. Finding out she was a werewolf had its own complications. She wasn't just a mindless wolf he could skin once they were on shore. Killing her became murder instead of a simple hunt. There was some part of her that was human, and even if he was known as a 'bloodthirsty pirate' he was adverse to killing someone with little reason. Sure, wealth was a strong draw, but he had to admit he was interested in this creature. He vowed to himself that it wasn't only because of her shapely chest and curved hips.

He had felt the loss when Rumplestiltskin killed Milah. He'd loved her, or so he had believed he did. Granted, much of his draw to her had been her willingness to forsake her motherly landlubber life to follow recklessly after him, but he had loved her in his own way. He loved her loyalty and her willingness to throw her past aside for him. He wouldn't fall for another woman again, especially not just because of the curves of her body. He'd bedded plenty of women in his time, and that was all his observations of this woman owed to: he was a male with a healthy respect for the female body. Nothing more.

"I imagine werewolf pelts bring in even more gold than any other wolf pelt," he noted to himself, shrugging slightly. The sunlight glinted off of his hook as he shrugged, and Red's eyes were drawn to the missing hand. Hook. She had heard his name whispered on the lips of others. Fear came with the name, a fear borne by ignorance. People were afraid of pirates as murderous criminals, riding the high seas with no laws to keep them in check. However, she was best friends with Snow White and close to her husband, Prince Charming. She wasn't alone even if they literally weren't with her now.

"The moment you tried to skin me, the princess would have you beheaded," she snapped, more irritably than she'd intended. She didn't want this man to see that he got beneath her skin, even a little bit.

"Is that so?" Hook asked, his eyebrows raising in interest. "The princess, you say?"

He took a step closer to the bars and finally pulled his hooked arm out from beneath his elbow, the hook glinting wickedly in the light. The sound of metal scraping metal grated in her ears and she winced before she could hide the discomfort. Even in her human form, her hearing was heightened more than another human's, and the sound split into her skull like a bull horn.

"Snow White is not my princess any more than a unicorn is my king," he hissed, the smile still on his face. He was at ease, in his element, here in the hold of his ship, and she knew he was right. His world was the sea, and there was little Snow or Charming could do to save her as long as she was in his world. The sloshing of the ocean against the sides of the ship suddenly made her feel nauseous.

"What will you do with me, then?" she asked, her arms uncrossed as she dug her fingers into the wood at her back.

Hook shrugged his shoulder nonchalantly and waved his hooked hand around in the air lackadaisically. "I haven't decided, but for now I suppose it would be best if you stay down here in case you decide to try to wolf out and chow down on any of my crew. Have a nice day, my dear."

With that, he turned his back on her and headed back toward the staircase and the sunlight beyond.


	2. Chapter 2

Sunlight glared into her comfortable darkness as the hatch leading to the deck above swung open. Red blinked her eyes and buried her head in her knees as she sat on the floor, openly moping. It had been days - or so she imagined since she couldn't actually see the sun to see how long she'd been down here in this smelly hold of a pirate ship - since Hook had first visited her, believing her to be a wolf. Since, she'd been alone except for the few meals she did receive, always delivered by the spritely first mate. She'd tried scaring the little man the first time he'd come with her meal by growling, her eyes glowing a dangerous shade of red and her fangs snapping at him as she began to shapeshift. To her chagrin, the little man seemed immune to fear and he'd watched her in awe as the magnificent black fur grew in over her body and her wolf form took over.

Since she was a werewolf, and not just a beast, she had trained herself to think clearly even in wolf form, and she still remembered the little man approaching the cell with his eyes wide not from fear but from a morbid curiosity. She had snapped at him, daring him to come closer, but he'd kept a respectable distance. Realizing he wasn't afraid of her and intended to deliver her food anyway, she'd given up the charade and shifted back into her human form, fuming irritably that the show hadn't warranted the desired effect.

Instead of standing to greet Smee as he brought her the meal she was sure was coming, she sat with her head resting on her knees, content with ignoring him until he was gone.

"I've brought you something."

The voice was male (as was every other voice on the ship), and she recognized it, but it wasn't the tiny first mate. Lifting her head, she affected a glare as she looked up at the captain who stood smirking at her from the other side of the bars. She momentarily considered shifting and trying to bite off his good hand, but she knew he was too far away. He was too clever to get that close to her. Instead, her eye was drawn to his black gloved hand and a sparkling talisman resting in his palm. Tilting his hand, Hook allowed the pendant to fall free of his palm, swinging independently on its gold chain and catching the light in the most brilliant way.

The ruby was so beautiful it took her breath away, and she sucked in a gasp but struggled to maintain her composure in front of the pirate. Gliding to her feet, she tore her gaze away from the trinket to look up at her captor, her anger and growing hatred for him allowing her to glare at him once more. "Do you expect to fool me with your gifts only to allow you to murder me when we reach the shore?" she growled, crossing her arms over her chest and carefully keeping her eyes away from the beautiful gem. She had always loved red things (perhaps due to her name), and rubies were her favorite jewels. There was no way this disgusting scalawag could know such a thing about her, and she didn't intend to allow him to find out.

"Don't flatter yourself, werewolf," he laughed, his tone sharp even as he chuckled at the absurdity of the idea. "I will have your pelt when we get to shore. In the meantime, I would assure myself and my crew the safety of your presence. This," he lifted his arm so the talisman swung between them once more, drawing her eye to it unwillingly, "...is a magical trinket designed to suppress your wolf side. Surely, it won't work as adequately as whatever trick your heritage concocted for you to protect your more... bestial tendencies, but it will do the trick for now."

He tossed the necklace at her and it fell to the floor between them as Red refused to catch it. She wanted to catch it, badly, to feel the gold chain dripping over her fingers and to see the ruby gleaming against her skin, but she wouldn't. She wouldn't allow him the satisfaction of getting what he wanted. Instead, she glowered defiantly at him as he raised his eyebrows and smirked at her reaction.

"Put it on."

Red smiled darkly and leaned her hips slightly backward, using her bare foot to kick the necklace through the bars toward him where it slid to a stop at the tip of his black boot.

"No."

Hook glanced down at the necklace, a mixture of admiration and irritation crossing his unfortunately handsome features as he looked back up at her out of the tops of his eyes. "If you ever want to see the light of day again, I suggest you agree." He smiled politely (if such a thing was possible for a pirate to do), leaned over and retrieved the necklace with his hook, and offered it to her through the bars, his hooked hand glinting menacingly in the sunlight.

"If you think you can threaten me with that _thing_, then you are mistaken," Red remarked in a low voice, her eyes glaring into his as the necklace swung lazily between them, matching the rhythm of the ship shifting on the sea.

"If you think you aren't going to wear this talisman, then you are mistaken," Hook replied with an easy smile. He was the type to threaten without ever being aroused to anger. It irritated her - she just wanted him to get angry so she knew she was getting under his skin - but instead he simply told her his demands and she knew she must follow them. She was going to die once they reached the shore anyway and arguing with the captain of the vessel where she was imprisoned was merely futile. She hated being forced to acquiesce, but he was right: if she ever wanted to breathe fresh air again, she must give in.

Without a word, she snatched the necklace from the hook and tossed it unceremoniously over her head, trying not to look at it. The instant it touched the bare skin on her chest, she sucked in a breath. The magic of the talisman washed through her like a hot, forceful thing and she felt it suppress that basest part of her: the wolf. Testing it, she tried to change anything, but she couldn't even feel her claws grow out of her fingertips. Panic flooded into her chest, and she reached to remove the necklace but found it was impossible. It felt like a lead weight around her neck and it glimmered complacently as it remained stiffly around her neck.

Looking frantically up at Hook, she saw his smug grin as he watched the realization dawn over her. "I suppose I didn't mention you had to put it on willingly, but I'm the only one who can remove it once it's on," he remarked offhandedly, shrugging as if it was no big deal she was still imprisoned, only in a different manner.

Instinctively, Red reached out and slapped him through the bars. The attack actually surprised him, and Hook stepped away, looking at her with a moment of surprise as his composure fell for the briefest of seconds. He recovered with remarkable speed, and there was that irritatingly nonchalant smirk once again.

"I promised you sunlight, and so you shall have it. Smee!"

The flighty first mate appeared through the sunlit hatch, fabric draped over his arms as he raced to his master's side. "Yes cap'n!"

"Get her dressed before she comes above deck." Hook turned and walked away, disappearing into the sunlight as Smee smiled gleefully and held out the fabric on his arms.

"Blue or green?"

"I prefer red," she remarked flatly, feeling the need to be as contrary as possible.

"Well, neither is really closer to red than the other, but I think the green would look nice with your eyes," Smee replied, as immune to her negativity as he was to her dangerous wolf form.

* * *

After what felt like hours later (but was in reality only minutes), Red straightened the green dress over her hips and allowed Smee to lead her up the staircase into the now deepening sunlight. To her chagrin, the little man was right. The green looked lovely with her eyes. He had held up a broken piece of a looking glass for her to untangle her hair, and the green dress had illuminated her eyes in the most wonderful way. This returned a thread of confidence to her as she followed the first mate above deck.

The sun was dropping toward the horizon as she emerged out of the hold, and Killian caught sight of her instantly. It wasn't hard, even if the entrance to the hold hadn't been positioned in the direct center of the deck. Her black hair caught the dying rays of the sun, illuminating it with red streaks, and the green velvety dress accented her eyes perfectly. If he'd been able to ignore her natural beauty before, he was incapable of doing so now. Her hair curled in soft ringlets down around her shoulders, and although it hadn't been fixed, it naturally framed her face as she stared defiantly around the deck while her eyes adjusted to the light.

He was out of her line of sight and allowed himself a moment to recover from the unexpected sight of her before setting his face with its usual smug grin as he leaned on the railing and watched his crew circle her. She drew herself up tall and glared them down, daring them to challenge her even though they wouldn't. They may tease her a bit, but they knew better than to threaten her. Although she wore the talisman around her neck suppressing her wolf form, their captain had made express demands not to touch her as they did with the other females they took onto their ship. Unsure of how capable the necklace was at controlling her werewolf form, Killian didn't want her rankled to the point that she would break free of its power. Even so, the crew circling her, openly commenting on her curvaceous form and beautiful porcelain skin and black hair, and her peeved glares in return entertained him to no end. She didn't know he'd ordered them not to touch her, and her discomfort and disgust was amusing to say the least.

"Easy boys," the captain called from his perch beside the steering column, drawing Red's attention to him immediately. "Dinner will be served soon. Let the lass eat before you tear into her." He smiled irascibly as Red glared up at him, and the pirates laughed gaudily, dispersing toward the mess hall.

Descending from the steering area as Smee took over directing the vessel, Killian examined her for her own benefit. She glared angrily at him as he sized her up, humming with approval or tsking in disapproval as he circled her. The game served to entertain him more as she pursed her lips and stared him down with a huffy frown as he returned to face her.

"It fits nicely, although you could do to lose a few pounds in your hips." It wasn't true, but it pissed her off, and that amused him.

"Because you would know," she snapped sarcastically, turning away from him and walking to the railing to look out across the ocean toward the setting sun. Her black hair blew in the natural breeze thrown off of the ocean across the ship, and she raised her chin into the wind, admiring the sunset.

"I consider myself something of a connoisseur on women's body parts."

The comment nettled her further, but she ignored him as she watched the waves lapping the sides of the ship. A swift breeze danced through the full skirt of the green dress, tossing her hair away from her face as Red turned to look back at the sun. This man hoped to irritate her, to push her to her limits, and she couldn't allow him to do so. She would surprise him by remaining unaffected by his crass words. She wasn't a typical lady anyway, and she wouldn't feign offense like those vapid women who felt a need to disapprove simply because society expected it from them. She could disapprove in her own way and prove she was not merely one of his treasures he could do with as he pleased. If he was going to skin her the moment they reached the shore, then she would live her life in her own way until that time.

"I'm sure you think more highly of yourself than is accurate," she commented easily, turning slightly to raise an eyebrow as she looked at him. If he could barb her with his words, then she could do the same.

Hook smirked, seemingly unruffled by the jab, and moved to lean on the railing nearby, carefully out of slapping range. "I have stolen the hearts, and more, of many women, love," he replied, his eyes flashing as he glanced at her. The meaning was clear: he had bedded as many as he'd wooed. She didn't know why the comment sent a hot flash through her stomach when it should have disgusted her. Not sure how to respond, Red looked away, staring intently at the setting sun.

The ship rocked soothingly now that she was out of the hold and could see where she was going. She wondered how many days she'd been in that hold, but the only clue she got was the fact there was no land to be seen in any direction. Not being a seafarer, she had no idea how long it took for a ship to reach open waters with no land in sight, but she imagined it was at least a few days.

"Where are we going?" she asked, finally returning her gaze back to the captain.

Hook smiled mysteriously and stood, turning to head toward the mess hall toward the boisterous sounds of his crew. "That's for me to know and you to find out, lass."


	3. Chapter 3

Although she was hungry, Red preferred the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull of the ship over the boisterous rough-housing of the pirate crew. They acted only as a group of men can be expected to act in the absence of women: like children. She couldn't fault them really, but she didn't have to befriend them either. She munched on a roll and a bit of pot roast she'd managed to grab before she'd been accosted by the men, escaping with her dignity intact.

Standing at the aft of the ship, she watched, using what little light illuminated the night from the lanterns swinging merrily on the rear of the vessel, the trail the boat left in the water. Having never been to sea, she was awed by the simple beauty of the ocean: the white wake churning along the sides and rear of the ship, the soothing rocking of the entire boat, and the pleasant lapping of the water as it slid along the sloop's sides. The combination of the sensations was enough to make her woozy, and she leaned over on the railing, her eyes drooping tiredly.

"Don't fall in, lassy," cautioned Smee from behind her, jolting her wide awake. She turned to face him, blinking her eyes to keep herself awake.

"You pirates enjoy sneaking up on me," she chided, hugging her arms around her stomach. Smee shrugged and smiled amiably.

Despite her dislike of the profession in general, she admitted the first mate appealed to her softer side. He resembled a pet, a cute little hamster someone could keep as a companion and a comic relief. He made her smile on the inside although she was too stubborn to show him how he amused her. Out of all the men on the ship, she felt the most at ease with the little man (excluding the captain who was an irritant to her and only reminded her why she hated pirates).

"It's not on purpose, miss," Smee admitted with another shrug. He removed his red cap and wrung it between his hands. "It's just... the cap'n wouldn't want his trophy catch to fall overboard."

Her brow furrowed as she glared at the man and then looked away, anger rising in her chest. Of course. It couldn't simply be out of fear for her safety that the first mate would caution her against getting too close to the railing; it was because Hook didn't want his prized showpiece getting lost. She had half a mind to throw herself over, even if it meant her sure death (or worse, the pirates stopping and turning to retrieve her which would defeat the purpose of jumping in the first place), just to spite the 'cap'n'. The man was an ass and deserved for something not to go his way for once.

Despite all of that, she didn't particularly want to become one with the ocean, and stepped away from the railing with her arms still crossed over her chest stubbornly.

"Also, the master requests your presence, lass," the first mate concluded, bowing slightly and gesturing her toward the prow of the ship. Unable to resist (although she badly wanted to), she drew herself up and ground her teeth together as she glided past the first mate, headed for the bow.

Red wasn't surprised Hook summoned her to the prow. That seemed to be his favorite place on the entire ship. It gave him a false sense of power, she supposed. Sniffing derisively as she climbed the stairs, she smiled, pleased with herself. Hook couldn't hear her hateful thoughts toward him, but that didn't matter. Her mind was her own, and even if he would take her life from her, he couldn't take her soul.

She couldn't see him past the outline of the wheel, and he didn't come into view until she crested the top stair and saw his back, his dark hair rustling in the wind as he leaned on the railing looking in front of the ship. He seemed caught up in his thoughts, and for the briefest of moments she thought she glimpsed some humanity there. Then he heard her and turned slightly, that irritating smirk spreading over his face.

"You came."

"As if I had a choice," she countered. He nodded in agreement, admitting she was correct. She remained his prisoner - his trophy - until they reached dry land and he killed her. She shivered slightly at the thought. It became more real to her as the day went on. He had released her (under his own terms which included a shackle in the form of a pretty necklace) to enjoy her last days in the sun. It was morbid and sadistic really like leading a horse to water just to drown him.

Red stood with her arms crossed over her chest, distancing herself from him subconsciously. Shifting his weight, the captain removed the black leather jacket he wore over a black billowing shirt and matching black pants. Moving toward her, he quickly swooped the garment around her shoulders even as she balked from his nearness. He noticed her aversion to him and moved away, giving her space to her as he ignored the affront and returning to his position at the prow. As realization set in that he'd actually done something gentlemanly, confusion crept over her. How could a cold-hearted, murderous pirate actually offer his cloak to a lady on a cool evening? It seemed so out of character that it threw her off guard.

Of course, that was exactly what he wanted. He wanted to remain an enigma to her, unreadable and confusing so as to stay at arms-length. He didn't want to get to know her any more than she wanted to get to know him, but he was interested in her if for no reason other than how she had become a werewolf. If he could tap into this source of gold and riches, it would fulfill his wildest dreams.

"If you're going to die when we reach the shore..." he began, turning to lean his right elbow on the railing and facing his body toward her as he offered her that now-familiarly irritating smirk, "...then you should experience everything you can before that happens."

It wasn't an observation as much as it was a command. The words seemed so out of context, she opened her mouth to respond tartly but was cut off as music began to lilt from below. Turning swiftly to glance below, she saw a small band of pirates with a few instruments (an accordion, a flute, and a small drum to be exact). The remaining crew danced around, many of them tipsy from the grog they'd devoured following the evening meal, and laughter carried through the wind up to Red's keen ears.

She had always loved parties and merrymaking. She'd even helped Snow organize magnificent balls at the palace (despite the fact she was usually forced to stay to the sidelines once the crowd arrived because she scared people who knew she was a werewolf). However, she watched from the crowd as couples twirled and ladies glided in their magnificent ballgowns. She even enjoyed the simple gatherings, similar to the one below her now, where people just had a grand old time with no preconceived notions about behavior or etiquette. Music made her happy, and all of her desires to be wanted in the group, to just dance and be merry, poured over her as she watched the pirates improvising some crazy little jig on the deck.

So caught up in her thoughts was she that she didn't realize Hook was standing directly behind her until she heard his voice. She could hear the smile on his lips as he spoke, "Do you know how to dance?"

She sniffed scornfully at the question. "It would serve your reputation better, _captain_, not to ask stupid questions."

Killian smiled to himself at her response. She was stubborn and proud, and she wasn't about to back down to him simply because he had shown her an act of kindness. He was beginning to enjoy her spirit. No woman had been bold enough to deny him before her, even something as simple as agreeing with him. Milah certainly hadn't. She had been pliable from the moment he'd met her in the tavern where she had worked at the time. But this wolf-girl was intelligent and strong-willed, and while he still intended to take her pelt when they reached the trading port, he admitted to enjoying her coy comebacks.

"The better comment would be to order you to dance then, I suppose," he commented in response. He saw her shoulders stiffen at the suggestion of him 'ordering' her to do anything, and he almost chuckled out loud. Leaning closer to her, his hands meeting her hips, he whispered in her ear, "Dance if you wish, love. It's your life to live."

He pushed her forward and she stumbled slightly down the stairs before catching her balance and turning to glare defiantly up at him. As she appeared in the light of the lanterns the pirates had assembled to illuminate the deck, the men spread apart, eyeing her warily. Red looked down her nose at them, but they seemed averse to mess with her. She wasn't sure if it was anything she'd done or simply because she was their captain's prized possession and tarnishing her was disallowed, but she was thankful they kept their distance.

Venturing another glance over her shoulder, she noticed Hook perched nonchalantly on the staircase, leaning lazily against the banister with his arms crossed over his chest. "A spritely tune!" he ordered, waving the band to pick up the pace. The men followed the command and a bouncing melody began lilting over the deck.

Pirates began ignoring her as the tune got under their skin, and they began dancing, some of them completely out of rhythm but enjoying themselves nonetheless. And that was really the point of dancing after all, wasn't it? Hook was right in his own sadistic way. If these were her last days, she wanted to enjoy them. She had always wanted to be on the dance floor at those dances instead of in the crowd watching from afar. Now was her chance.

Ignoring Hook's presence, she allowed the jumpy tune to get within her, and she found herself bobbing to the music. Lifting her green skirt with her hands to free the movement of her feet, she smiled to herself and began to dance to the tune. The pirates began to notice her again now that she was moving, and they cheered heartily, welcoming her into the circle they had begun to form. Dancing among them, she felt a part of something, and she got caught up in the madness of it all.

The music escalated and the pirates joined arms, pulling Red into the line as they spun and kicked toward the center of the circle. She giggled as they spun, becoming drunk from the spinning, and she pulled herself from the group, twirling into the center of the circle. They kicked out toward her, chanting and cheering along to a tune they made up as they went, and she laughed, lifting her skirts and dancing among them. They cheered her on, clapping to the beat as she twirled and danced to the jig.

It was all so amusing and thrilling she lost herself in it, spinning until she could see only a blur of bodies and her own black hair. She giggled madly as she got dizzy, tipping and stumbling to the side. The pirates caught her as the song ended, raising her back to her feet much gentler than she would have expected had she not been high from the rush of adrenaline of the dance.

The song had slowed, retaining its gleeful air but gently wafting around them as Red caught her balance. Suddenly, Hook stood before her, the left side of his mouth permanently turned up in a slight, amused grin. She couldn't manage a glare at him because the happy mood of the dance still had her in its embrace. His hand extended toward her, and she took it with neither defiance or pleasure. In a way, they both knew this would be some strange sort of test between them, an assessment for both.

To her surprise, he pulled her toward him, his hook circling her back and pressing into her bodice in its cool C-shape. His right hand held her left as he easily led her in a sweeping dance that carried them from one side of the ship to the other. Her green eyes watched him keenly, but he simply watched her in return, spinning her with him in swift, precise movements.

He was a marvelous dancer, and for a moment she imagined herself in the ballroom of Snow's palace, the crowd pulled back for a better view of the couple on the floor. Her black hair fell down her back in soft curls but her dress was crimson, darker than blood but bright enough to catch the eye of every jealous princess in the room. Hook's black garb remained the same in her dream version of them for it seemed to fit him better than anything she could imagine for him.

They swept over the floor, encased by the magic of the waltz, their eyes only seeing each other. The people surrounding them disappeared as the power play ran its course between them. She challenged him to lead her, and he surprised her by dancing like an angel. She didn't fight him for the lead, but she offered him the challenge: he would have to work to impress her. Killian had never felt the desire to impress a woman before - not even Milah - but he felt a strange desire to prove how impressive he was to this girl. If she hated him (and she openly did), then her validation actually meant something. If she could admit he was remarkable through her hatred for him, then he had accomplished something unattainable.

Despite her misgivings toward the man, Red was overcome by the moment. She forgot she was a captive on a pirate ship, or even that she would die in what could be a few days time. For the moment, she was nothing but a young woman and he was a young man, and they danced perfectly together. As the music crescendoed, Hook spun her away from him just to bring her back, pulling her closer than she'd ever been before. They stood face to face for a moment, his breath hot on her face. Her heart beat rapidly, obviously due to the exertion, and her breasts rose and fell with each quick breath she took. The ruby talisman on her chest twinkled as it rose and fell with her breathing.

Her green eyes had the most enrapturing effect in the moody light of the lanterns, accentuated by the emerald dress she wore. She was beautiful in a defiant, unconventional way, and she took his breath away. She saw the change in his eyes, but it was so brief, it was gone before she could understand it. Gently, but with force, Hook released her and she stumbled away from him.

"Thank you for the dance," he commented politely, turning to disappear into the captain's quarters at the bow of the ship.

Red's jaw dropped open at the suddenness of it all, and she absently placed a hand over her chest as she glanced around at the pirates nearby. They turned away from her, some of the drunker ones singing random drinking songs as they swayed back and forth on the deck or passed out on the boards.

"The cap'n has ordered you sleep in the hold again tonight, miss," Smee announced, appearing out of nowhere as was his way. She jumped slightly in surprise, but he didn't seem to notice, and he ushered her through the hatch toward the cell where she'd been cooped up for days already.

She was still stunned from the dance, heady from the last few hours and confused out of her mind. However, the familiar sight of the cell brought her to her senses and hot anger washed all flighty thoughts of girlishness out of her mind. "Reminded once more than I am still a prisoner."

"Aye," Smee assented, pointing to a newly-added pallet of pillows and silken blankets along with a tray of water and crackers if she felt the urge to have a snack during the night. "I won't be shutting the door tonight, in case you needs to.. well, er... use the toilet." He shrugged awkwardly and turned, dissipating into the darkness and onto the deck. The hatch closed behind him, and Red sank to her knees on the pillows. She felt like a dog in these conditions, held on a leash and walked for the world to see during the daytime, but sent to her doghouse to sleep. She shouldn't have expected any different. They were pirates; she was their treasure. Anything beyond that was merely a dream.


	4. Chapter 4

A week had passed aboard the pirate ship, each day beginning with Smee bringing her a choice between two dresses, followed by the every day experiences that accompany a pirate vessel. Hook ignored her since their dance, and she didn't expect much otherwise. She had no desire to be around him anyway (especially after the weird way he'd affected her that night), so she tried her best to stay out of the way of the crew as they did their daily duties. She learned so much about manning a ship, from washing down the cannons and making sure the gunpowder remained dry to running sails and securing ropes. The whole vessel was fascinating once she knew the intricacies of it, and she even began to help here and there, tying off a rope or helping the cook to wash out his pots after breakfast.

In a strange way, she became a member of the crew without ever trying, but they never expected anything from her. As she grew to know the men, she understood they wouldn't lay a hand on her but had developed a unique respect for her. She may be a pile of gold waiting to be claimed for their captain, but the crew saw her as one of them. When they teased her now, it was in good humor, and they danced with her during their nightly song and dance before bedtime. She never saw Hook dancing among them again, but she noticed him watching them from time to time.

She also observed the way the crew interacted with their master. Hook was clearly the leader, and they actually respected him and wanted to serve him. The loyalty there was astounding, but seeing the honor among thieves was the most surprising of all. She had imagined them all as shallow caricatures of people instead of the complex human beings they were. They had committed murder and pillaged and done innumerable deeds (all recounted around the dinner table or while they messed with the rigging during a day's work), but there were reasons for what they did. They didn't kill or steal for the sake of committing a crime. Red didn't know if she would ever fully understand their motives, but she understood she couldn't judge them only by what she saw.

On the seventh day after Hook had first invited her out of her cell, she was awoken to a loud cry, "Land ho!"

Sitting up groggily, she rubbed her eyes, and as the words sank in, a chill ran through her. This would be her last day alive. Her heart leapt painfully in her chest, and she glanced around as if looking for something that could save her life. There was nothing nearby save for the water and untouched crackers Smee always left for her at night.

A shadow covered the hatch, catching her eye, and her head snapped up to see the first mate descending the stairs, two outfits laid over his arms like every other morning. Rising to her feet, Red swallowed heavily and faced him, determined to wear her pride even to her death. Smee walked toward her, his usual joviality on his face as he offered her two options: a purple dress and a blue one.

"The last outfit I will wear, and I don't even get red as an option," she commented disappointedly.

"Oy, this won't be the last outfit you wear, lassy," Smee corrected. Frowning in confusion, she looked into his round face. "I heard the call for land..."

"Aye, we've reached the Port of No Hope," the first mate confirmed, as if that answered all of her questions.

"Is that... the trading port?" she asked, still confused. Hadn't Hook said the next time they reached land would be her last day?

Smee shook his head vehemently and chuckled at the question. "Not at all. The Port of No Hope is a place the crew likes to... 'let go'. The best grog on dry land, I'd say."

"So I won't be dying."

"You won't be dying," Smee confirmed with a pleasant smile. "A few of the men may get the clap, but that'll be about the worse of it." He smiled broadly, and Red almost laughed.

She was relieved she wouldn't be dying, but why had her death been prolonged? Perhaps the men just needed to be on land for a while. Still, she failed to realize the point of this venture. Why wouldn't Hook just get it over with? He'd been treating her more like a possession, unworthy of his attention, since the dance they had shared than he had before. So why not just end the charade? He clearly cared more about how much gold her pelt would bring him than about her as a human being. She wished he would stop prolonging the inevitable.

Despite her misgivings about this little 'stop', she chose the purple dress since it was as close to red as she seemed able to get and dressed swiftly as the sounds of the men agitating to get ashore spurred her excitement. A wistful desire to see land quickened her pace, and the excitement above board was tangible. She almost skipped as she followed Smee up the staircase into the sunlight, and she began looking around for the shore the moment her head lifted out of the darkness of the hold.

There it was. Sweet, sandy, mountainous land. Her heart swelled at the sight of it, and she hadn't realized how badly she missed having her feet on dry land until this moment. The port remained hidden by a wall of rock which jutted into the ocean, coming into view only as the ship rounded the protrusion. Buildings seemed crammed into the mountainous walls of the bay and ships floated lazily along the many docks in the water against the shore. No country's flag flew over the oceanside port, but the pirate flag waved proudly on its shore. This place remained out of the reaches of the kingdom, made more obvious by the fact she had never heard of this place until today.

"There it is, boys," came Hook's distinctive voice over the silence of the excited crew. The pirates began cheering as she turned to find him, catching sight of him standing in his usual place behind the steering wheel. His eyes were trained on the port, but, as if he felt her gaze on him, he looked down at her. A glint passed through his eyes and he looked away with that smirk on his lips. Frowning slightly, she turned back to admire the town as the ship sailed into the bay.

Dolphins frolicked beside the ship as it turned into the docks, and she actually laughed to herself as they clicked and waved their fins at her. Once she even thought she saw a mermaid, but it could have been a trick of light on the water. Seals sunbathed on the tip of the cove, their barks echoing over the water to the boat as it passed by. Seagulls swooped over the deck, stealing a few scraps of food left over from the night before.

Finally, the ship slid in beside the dock, rocking every other boat on each side from its wake, and the crew tied it down safely. The gangplank lowered to release them, and the men poured off the ship, disappearing into the town beyond. Moving after them, Red was caught short just as her foot touched the board that would release her from the ship.

"Not so fast, love," Hook scolded, his hand grabbing her wrist and pulling her back onto the ship. She almost lost her footing but defiantly caught herself and faced him, confusion and vexation crossing her face.

"What is this?" she asked, glancing pointedly at his restraining hand on her wrist. He released her and smiled sweetly.

"You are far too valuable to get lost on this island," he answered, his point made clear. She belonged to him, and she wasn't allowed to leave the boat.

Rage crested in her chest, her face turning red as her anger grew. "How dare you? Your crew gets to set foot on solid ground, and I'm to be confined on this blasted ship while you go carousing and drinking and having a merry time with yourself."

Hook shrugged and then nodded, "Well... yes. That's exactly it." He smiled pleasantly, which only served to piss her off more.

"You ass. I don't belong to you. Why don't you just kill me now and carry the pelt with you. I never asked to become a prisoner to this... _stupid_ ship or to **you**!" Her anger would get her nowhere, but it relieved her to yell at him.

"I suppose I can understand your disappointment, but you see..." he stepped toward her, and the unwelcome memory of his arms pulling her tightly against him as their waltz ended returned powerfully to her. The sunlight illuminated his light eyes, reflecting the purple of her dress in their unreadable depths. Setting her jaw, she glared insolently at him as he smiled patronizingly down at her. "...You _do_ belong to me, until I decide otherwise." He reached up and touched the ruby talisman hanging around her neck, lifting it easily where she'd been incapable of moving it even an inch.

He saw the impotent frustration in her eyes as he moved it, and he grinned victoriously. He received a wicked satisfaction by knowing his power over her irritated her so badly. "And if I killed you now, then I run the risk of the pelt not keeping its shape or losing it or... it's just too complicated. So, for now, I wish for you to remain alive."

"Now, my crew and I will busy ourselves 'carousing', as you so distinctly put it," he leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, "And bedding plenty of wenches, I'm sure, and when we've had our fill, we shall return."

Red rolled her eyes, disgusted by the pirate captain's crass choice of words. Although she knew he'd said it for her benefit, it still heated her to hear it. The thought of him having sex with any woman he wanted chafed her more than she liked to admit. His lack of respect for sex offended her (a woman who had vowed to remain a virgin by her own choice, having never found a man worthy of that prize), and imagining him fucking some random whore irked her. She was unsure why his words rankled her so badly, and she crossed her arms as she moved away from him in stony silence.

"Smee will remain onboard to keep an eye on you until I return," Hook confirmed, checking his sword to be sure it was secured in the scabbard on his hip.

"Don't catch anything from your whores," she remarked sardonically, her green eyes flashing. "The last thing I would want is for you to die of some sexually-transmitted ailment before I got the chance to kill you myself." Hook actually laughed at her words, tipping his head to her and disappearing down the dock into the bustling pirate city.

She watched him until he was swallowed up by the buildings, and then she sat down in a frustrated heap on the deck as Smee approached her, offering her some water. She accepted it without a thank you and leaned her forehead against the railing, watching the land floating in her view, so close yet so far away.

"You don't go ashore?" she asked finally, sensing Smee's presence never too far from her, always keeping watch in case she decided to bolt for the shore.

The first mate shrugged noncommittally and tightened a rope on the rigging. "It's not all it's cracked up to be, lassy. Besides, there are too many bad types looking for the likes of me for me to venture on land."

Red snorted. "And your precious Hook is safe from these types?" She eyed him doubtfully as he smiled innocently.

"His reputation proceeds him in a different way than my own. I was a black market trader before I found occupation on this ship. There are quite a few people who'd fancy me dead outside of the protection of the cap'n."

Red nodded comprehendingly. "There are quite a few people who would enjoy your captain's head on a silver plate for capturing me, I'll tell you. The prince and princess won't stand for it, you know."

Smee smiled excitedly, almost bouncing with enthusiasm. "I'm sure they wouldn't, but the cap'n's not afraid of the likes of them. The ocean is its own world, miss. Even your prince and princess can't reach us here."

A regrettable part of her knew he was right. In the brief time she'd been on board the ship, she felt the difference. The pirates were in their element on the sea. Even Charming wouldn't touch them there. He was headstrong and brave enough to try, she was sure, but she wouldn't want him to do so. Even if it meant the end of her own life, she wouldn't want her friends to risk their own lives against men who were so seasoned on the waves. Perhaps it was selfish, but she would rather lose her own live than lose her friends in the process of a futile rescue mission.

Surely Snow would have already noticed her missing and sent out search parties for her. Granny most definitely would have been searching already. The old woman had many connections in the kingdom, but Red doubted either of them could have tracked her to the pirates. At least not yet. A growing part of her hoped they never would. She didn't want a war starting because of her. She would give Hook his pelt, and her friends would stay safe.

* * *

The sun had begun setting, and Killian was tipsy but not drunk. He'd had a few pints of grog, but he took alcohol well. Plus, it wasn't his intention to get drunk tonight. He needed to forget certain things, but he didn't want to let his guard down completely. Wenches clustered around him as he sat with his booted feet up on the rickety wooden table, his hook laid across the chair beside him and his good hand free to pinch girls as they walked past him. Their giggles and trembling bodies took his mind off of the defiant woman he'd left behind on his ship. As his thoughts flitted over her for the umpteenth time that night, he took a deep sip of his grog and laughed at some asinine joke one of his crew made.

He was the dreaded Captain Hook of the high seas; he wasn't about to become undone over some woman. He'd given what he thought he had left of a heart to Milah, and that had tumbled down around him when Rumplestiltskin killed her. Never having thought he would feel that sort of pain, he had closed himself down, turning into the dread landlubbers felt when they heard his name. Since, he had devoted himself to finding that crocodile and destroying him. Then the wolf-girl appeared and distracted him.

Captain Hook hated distractions.

A busty woman leaned over in front of him, pulling him out of his daydreams as her breasts bounced in his line of sight. Looking up at her out of the tops of his dark-rimmed eyes, he smiled his crooked grin and reached up to touch the bottom of her chin with his good hand.

"You wan' a ride, sailor?" she asked, her island accent thick as she squeezed the words out over her full lips. Killian smiled with amusement and pulled his feet off of the table, quickly wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her down into his lap.

"What do you think, wench?" he asked teasingly as the woman laughed a lusty laugh. Lifting her and setting her on her feet, he allowed her to lead him to one of the many rooms in the inn.

She pushed him backward onto the poorly built bed which took up most of the room (what use was other furniture when the room was designed for sex?), and he feigned a stumble which took him to his back on the mattress. Hiking her skirts up around her wide waist, she climbed over him, her lipstick having run from kissing too many pirates in one night. Running his hand up her leg, he felt the heat of her skin and, for the first time, was mildly disappointed with how easy this all was. He always enjoyed a challenge, but whores like this one literally threw themselves at him. No matter. He was here for the physical enjoyment of it all, not to criticize the ease of the situation.

Undoing the ties on his black pants, she began pushing them away from his body before sitting up and releasing the strings at the back of her bodice, her massive breasts bouncing jovially in his face as she leaned back over. Her kisses were wet and frantic against his face and neck, and he found himself lost. He wasn't lost in her, however. He was lost in the moment and had moved past it into his daydreams once more.

Without willing it, he closed his eyes and saw her over him. Not the brazen whore who literally shared the bed with him, but the recalcitrant female he'd left behind on his ship. She was thinner but remained busty without being overly endowed. He imagined her skin as a soft thing, like silk and porcelain combined. Her black curls fell around his face as she kissed him, her soft skin pressing into his rougher hide, thickened by the salty air.

He wouldn't have her; couldn't have her. The thought enraged him in a reckless sort of irrational jealousy, and he gripped the whore by her hips, twisting their bodies so he hovered over her. His blue eyes flashed dangerously, and he saw the fear in her eyes. Good. That was what he deserved: a healthy respect. He was in charge in this show.

He took what he needed, not bothering to be gentle. The pirate in him took over completely, and he only barely managed to stay a step above ravaging the woman. She screamed her pleasure, but even as he reached his peak, he knew this wasn't what he wanted. He couldn't get her out of his mind. The whole purpose of this trip to the shore had been to erase his growing interest in the wolf-girl, and he had failed.

His thoughts were interrupted as the door to the dilapidated room swung open wildly, its hinges creaking in protest, revealing a burly man glaring angrily at him. Standing and cinching his pants, Killian offered him a kindly smile, unaffected by the imposing figure who appeared well-able to snap him in half.

"No rush; I'm done with her, mate," he commented with a pleasant grin. The whore cringed in the bed, whispering the man's name in a fearful voice, "Otis..."

Otis growled animalistically at him, and Killian's brow furrowed as he held his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "Truthfully, I'm finished. No need for dramatics."

He moved to exit the room, but the burly man stepped to the side, blocking his exit. _Shit_, he thought to himself. The smell of rum and sweat clouded around the bear-like Otis, and Killian imagined this wasn't going to end well.

A minute later he found himself flying down the staircase and landing heavily on one of the many wooden tables in the tavern on the first floor, the air knocked from his lungs as the table split beneath his weight. Coughing, he sat up and shook his head as his crew looked around in confusion and then anger. They rose from their seats as Killian pushed himself to his feet, watching Otis with a dark glint in his blue eyes.

"You pay for whores, pirate," Otis growled. Killian smiled darkly and shook his head. "No, I pay for skill. Your girl had none."

The affront was too much for the ogre, and he roared, lumbering down the stairs after the captain and his crew. "Out, now!" he yelled to his crewmates, urging them out the door of the inn and into the night beyond.

They escaped the hot, sweaty environment and began the race to the ship. Unfortunately, Otis was not alone, and his friends were armed. Equally as unfortunate was the simple fact that weapons were permitted in the Port of No Hope. Hearing a gunshot behind him, Killian stopped to see one of his lagging pirates had been shot through the lower leg by another burly man. Otis thundered out of the inn and joined with his compadres who materialized out of the darkness, advancing on the retreating pirates.

Stopping, Killian returned to the man, pulling his head into his lap and slapping his face to keep him conscious as he reeled with the pain of the gunshot wound. "Stay with me. We're going to get you back to the ship, but I have to deal with a little issue first. Stay awake, okay?" It was more of a request than an order, but the man nodded in agreement.

Looking up at the lumbering giants advancing on him, each with his own firearm or massive wooden club, Killian found himself wishing he hadn't brought a sword to a gunfight.

* * *

Red sat leaning against the railing staring wistfully into town as the sun set and plunged her into darkness. It wasn't until she heard a raucous echo from the shore that she sat up and squinted into the night. The crew raced for the ship, most of them drunk and many of them only half-clothed. A notable member of their party was missing, however they all started babbling before she could ask them what had become of their captain.

"The cap'n's been cornered!"

"Smitty got shot!"

"Cap'n stopped and went back for 'im!"

Their comments overlapped one another and became a garbled mess of a tale, but Red gathered the general point of it. Hook had gone back for an injured member of the crew, and the two men had been left behind. Glancing at Smee to assess his reaction, she knew the man was stressed at the thought of his master in danger, and she had to admit (although she had no love for the man) she regretted a crewmate being left behind. The two made eye contact, and a subtle agreement passed between them. She was the only one in any shape to do anything about the situation, and she was free to go.

Leaping down the gangplank, she reveled in the feel of her feet on the dock even if it wasn't quite solid ground. Her purpose to intervene in whatever mess Hook had gotten himself into was firm in her mind, but her elation at seeing the sand overtook her. She leapt gleefully into it, landing on all fours to catch her balance as inertia threw her forward. Tossing it up around her, she reminded herself why she had been allowed to leave the ship in the first place, and she listened to the city.

Off to her right, she heard angry voices and the occasional lilt of a very familiar, and very irritating, pirate. Turning toward the muffled conversation, she glided into the shadows, unsure how to intervene. She wasn't surprised as she rounded the corner of a building to see Hook standing between his crewman and a group of hulking giants. None of them looked terribly pleased, and she would have laughed at his misfortune if she hadn't been worried about the man bleeding on the ground. She may have no affection for the captain, but she'd grown to feel a kindred spirit in his crew, and she knew Smitty as one of the happier, easygoing men. Begrudgingly, she would have to save Hook as well, but she supposed that was little cost to pay in the long run. Perhaps her good deed would even warrant her freedom. Doubtful, but there was no reason to dwell on the negative.

Stepping from the shadows, she walked toward the men, no idea of how to enter the situation other than the bad plan of simply walking toward them. Her presence caught the attention of the lead giant and Hook simultaneously, and neither of them looked terribly thrilled to have her join them. She fumbled for something to say, but the hulking man removed the necessity from her.

"How about I take your whore from you in payment?" the man growled, taking Red by surprise. What was he talking about? Then she remembered the unpleasant conversation she'd shared with the captain before he'd departed for shore. _Now, my crew and I will busy ourselves 'carousing', as you so distinctly put it, and bedding plenty of wenches, I'm sure, and when we've had our fill, we shall return. _She would have laughed at the absurdity of it all if she wasn't suddenly under the gauntlet due to his negligence below his waistline. Suddenly, one of the men grabbed her in his beefy hands, lifting her partly off the ground even as she kicked and protested.

"Let me down!" she griped. He set her on her feet, but her arms remained pinned behind her back, rendering her helpless and fuming with aggravation. She had been allowed to touch land in order to rectify this situation, and she hadn't gotten a word out before she'd become another casualty in Hook's game.

He watched her with a deep-seated chagrin as one of the gang tagged her up so easily. Memories of his unsatisfactory time with the whore came flooding back to him at the sight of her, her chest rising and falling with irritation at being accosted in such a way. Surely she didn't care for his well-being, and he knew her well enough to know she didn't appreciate being tossed around like someone's puppet. His eyes couldn't resist taking a short assessment of her, and his gaze lingered on the ruby around her neck. An idea sprang to his mind along with numerous other thoughts that were far too obscene to toy with at this particular time and place. As the wolf-girl glared at him and struggled futilely against her captor, Killian smiled kindly up at Otis.

"I will offer a trade then, a form of payment if you will," he proposed with a pleasant smile on his face.

Red's growing irritation flourished as she imagined what this trade would be. Would he skin her now, going against his promise that he would keep her alive a while longer, just to save his own hide? Would he offer her as some whore to these giants of men to get himself out of a petty debt he owed them? Many possible outcomes steeped in her mind, none of them positive, and she wanted to strangle him. That coy smirk on his face disgusted her, and she hoped he would rot in the deepest Hell for using her as a bartering chip.

Showing no fear at all, Hook glided toward the group, seeming to slide across the earth in his smooth gait. His eyebrows rose, and she realized she could smell a mixture of the salty sea and sandalwood on him as he grew closer. He smelled like a ship on the ocean, wild and untameable. A small part of her related to that part of him, recognizing a like spirit for the first time in the man she'd despised from the moment he'd announced she was his prisoner. Despite that, she admired him for boldly standing up to these men, even if she hated him for offering her as his trade.

"What do you have that I would want?" Otis asked, glancing over his shoulder at Red as he spoke. He smiled licentiously and flicked her under her chin, causing her to shrink away from him in disgust. "This one is delicious looking though. I'll bet she's a lynx in the bedroom."

"You have no idea," Hook remarked, garnering a glare from her as he smiled at his own joke. His eyes flashed as he made eye contact with her, and for a moment, she realized he had another plan in mind. Willing to give him the opportunity to redeem himself, she watched intently as he unwound his plan.

"She's not for trade, however," the pirate continued, and Red raised an eyebrow. Of course he wouldn't give away his most important treasure. She should have known better. "I have a better offer for you."

He had reached her now, and turned to look into her green eyes with his blue ones. She saw the spark again, and as he reached his good hand toward her, she instantly knew his plan. She couldn't explain how she knew, but a silent understanding passed between them, and she set her jaw in preparation for the punchline. He took her hand, guiding her away from the man who held her, the man releasing her to allow the seller to show his wares. The touch of his fingers on her wrist was like fire, and adrenaline coursed through her veins as the excitement for the plan blossomed in her mind. Reaching up with his hook, he lifted the ruby talisman from her chest, dangling it in the lamplight so the stone caught the light in every facet. It was mesmerizing, even to her, and she had to focus to keep herself under control.

Seeing her realization and agreement bolstered his confidence, and Killian eased into the deception of the sell. These simpletons would believe they had acquired a great treasure (unwillingly sold by a pirate in a necessary sale to free himself from certain harm), but they would get more than they bargained for. During this time, Smitty had inched across the square into the shadows where Smee had appeared to lift him and carry him as swiftly as possible to the ship. The gang paid this no mind, so enraptured by their soon-to-be-won fortune.

Lifting the ruby from around her neck, he moved her black hair aside and allowed it to fall in bouncing curls down her back as the necklace came free. The men didn't notice the silent showdown happening between the captain and his quarry as he freed her from the spell that controlled her wolf side. He knew giving her this freedom may mean she would run and he would never catch her again. She knew it was a price he had to risk to save himself and his crew. Part of his soul begged her to come back to him for reasons he couldn't understand, and part of him knew she never would.

As the necklace swung free of her hair, Red felt her power course through her veins, a burning sensation that wasn't pleasant and almost caused her to gasp. She was free. She was no longer his prisoner. The elation at the realization was almost too much to bear. Smitty was gone, saved by Smee from the shadows, and she could easily shapeshift and leave Hook to die at the hands of these men. She contemplated it for the briefest of moments before she realized she wouldn't do it. She wasn't like him. She wouldn't betray him that way, even if she hated him.

"I will trade you this for my freedom and the freedom of the lass as well," Hook offered, dangling the magnificent gem in front of the men. He needed to give her enough time to fully regain her powers if this was going to work. "What do you say?"

"What is a girl in the face of the wealth that pretty bauble would give us?" Otis asked, his mates nodding and grunting in agreement. He reached for the necklace, but instead, overreached and grabbed Hook's arm as well. "You, on the other hand, will be fun to kill, and _then_ we'll spend the money we earned from you."

Heat ran through Red's veins as she felt the wolf take over. She stood a foot away from Hook as the fur sprouted over her porcelain skin and her eyes flowed red. Fangs grew in her mouth, and an angry snarl reverberated around the square as the beautiful young woman shapeshifted into a bloodthirsty wolf. The last thing she saw before she lunged for Otis's throat was the ruby talisman fall to the sand beneath their feet.


	5. Chapter 5

Red woke to the lapping of waves on the beach. Sand matted her hair and, as she glanced down at her tattered purple dress, she saw blood stains on the fabric, on her hands, and felt the crustiness on her chin. Leaping to her feet, she ran to the water and splashed herself until the blood ran from her, staining the waves around her. The red color dissipated quickly as the tide moved in and out, and she trudged out of the waves, examining her surroundings. Feeling stable land beneath her feet was such a relief she sighed audibly and closed her eyes, leaning her head back and feeling the sunlight on her neck. Opening her eyes, she realized she was alone for the first time in weeks. She had no idea how long she'd been cooped up in the hold of the pirate ship before Hook had allowed her the week in the sun, but she imagined it hadn't been just a few days. Time got lost in eternal darkness.

Peering into the dense foilage clustered next to the sand, she smelled the fresh air and wondered how she'd gotten here. She remembered the night before when Hook had released her from the terrible spell he'd placed on her. She still remembered that glint in his eyes that she didn't understand: an unspoken understanding that she was going to disappear. There had been a disappointment there she didn't understand, but she hadn't taken time to examine his reaction. He was an enigma to her, confusing and complicated yet there was a simplicity to him that was unfathomable. She imagined he was multi-faceted, but didn't want anyone to know there was more to him than a loutish pirate.

Shaking her head, she walked into the shade of the trees, chiding herself for spending her time thinking about a man she didn't even like. She was free. Sitting on the moss-covered ground several yards from the ocean, she stared out across the undulating water and remembered the previous night.

Much of her vision was red when she was in wolf-form, and she saw in mixtures of heat and smells more than traditional sight. She shivered with a amalgam of pleasure and disgust at how she was when she was the wolf. It was thrilling to have that strength, that power, but her human side shrank away from the terrible things she did as a werewolf.

A flash of worry swept through her as she realized she didn't remember Hook escaping. Had she killed the captain as well in her wolf's rage? No. She knew she hadn't killed him. Even if she lost her humanity when she shapeshifted, her resolution to spare the pirate had been too deep-seated to forget when she was a wolf. She wouldn't believe she had killed him, even if a small shred of her worried that it was true. What could the dreaded Captain Hook do to defend himself against a werewolf anyway? Nothing much, to be honest.

Examining herself, she smoothed out the purple dress Smee had brought to her the day before and noticed the torn places, leaving behind tattered remains of a once beautiful garment. The color was tarnished from the blood she hadn't been able to completely remove, and she knew her hair was a terrible mess. As she ran her hands down her waist, she realized there was something tangled in the fabric. Frowning as she pulled her skirt up around her waist, she withdrew the item, recognizing it instantly: the ruby necklace. How she hadn't lost it throughout the night, she didn't know. Now that she had the chance, and no one was watching her, she admired the jewel. It sparkled in an otherworldly way, drawing her in addictively. Even if rubies hadn't always been her favorite stone, she would have been drawn to this one. Its magic was powerful, and she wondered what poor witch Hook had stolen it from. Smiling to herself, she wrapped it in the gold chain and dropped it into her cleavage, concealing it from the world without losing it altogether. She shouldn't keep it - it wasn't as if she could wear it and still live a free life - but she didn't want to get rid of it either. Now that she was free, she found herself missing the companionship of the pirates, and even the bothersome smirk of Captain Hook.

Feeling the layer of grime on her skin, she debated giving herself a proper bath in the ocean, but the idea of stripping naked in such an open place bothered her. Instead, she resolved herself to finding an inland pool to bathe. Her feet were bare, but her skin was toughened from many nights waking up in the woods in a similar fashion, and she stepped carefully through the jungle, listening for the sound of a stream or waterfall. She walked for an hour before she heard it and smelled the freshness of water rushing through the trees. Sighing with relief, she untied her dress and removed it, her shoulders sagging with ease at the lightening of the weight from her shoulders. Stepping from the skirt, she washed it in the pool until it returned to a semblance of its former color, and hung it over a bush where it could dry while she bathed. She draped the necklace safely nearby where it would remain hidden in case some wandering soul happened on her.

Slipping her feet into the water, she exhaled happily as the cool water met her skin and she lowered herself into the pool. Birds chirped pleasantly in the trees and the water kissed the shore as it lapped in reaction to her movements. She heard other animal movements as well as bunnies leapt through the underbrush or foxes stopped to take a drink, leaping away agilely when realizing they weren't alone. The entire experience was so relaxing, she allowed herself to float on the surface with her eyes closed, the speckled light of the sun shining through the trees danced over her eyelids. Sweeping her arms along the water, she pulled her slender body through the water, feeling completely safe in the small pool.

* * *

Killian stood at the helm of his ship as it floated in the ocean a few miles off the shore of the Port of No Hope. He was annoyed. The town glittered in the distance, and he itched to return, but he knew he couldn't. His prize was on that island - he knew she couldn't escape - and he ached to have her in his grasp again. He denied having any feelings for her other than the lust for riches, and it chafed him when Smee gave him that knowing look whenever mention of the search for the girl came up in conversation. She was his trophy, his treasure, and that was all. He'd voiced this a few times already, and even snapped that they wouldn't be talking about it anymore, but that didn't stop his first mate from staring sadly at him. The lost puppy look wasn't doing anything to boost Killian's mood.

He was a pirate, damn it. He didn't pine for women; they pined for him. He didn't beg them or plead with them, he used them for his pleasure or even invited a few to spend some time on his ship, and when he tired of them they walked the gangplank and he was through. Milah lingered in his mind, the care he'd felt for her unlike any female before, and he felt a twinge of guilt that he would ever dare to feel that way again. So he determined his desire to see the black-haired goddess again was only because he wanted her pelt, he wanted the fortune that accompanied her existence.

Last night, he had seen the full glory of her wolf side, and it had both thrilled and petrified him. The snarling growl, the dripping fangs, the ruthlessness with which she had attacked the men, it was all so wild and untamed. He hadn't expected that sort of unkeptness out of her, and he now understood her better than before. He understood that sense of understanding he'd felt when he looked into her eyes and told her he was going to release her. And that understanding gave him a sliver of hope that she wanted to come back to him as badly as he wanted her to return.

So he stood on the deck of his ship fuming over his inability to depart and leave this woman behind. He felt impotent and drawn to her, addicted to her in an insatiable and unsatisfying way. She challenged him, and that alone attracted him to her. He may dislike his inability to allow her to escape for personal reasons, but he missed the banter between them.

None of this would he admit to anyone. He reluctantly admitted it to himself, and even then, he denied its truth. Openly, he ordered his men to circle the island at a safe distance, searching the shores for their lost prey. Not only had he misplaced the wolf-girl, but the talisman she'd worn around her neck had gone missing as well, lost in the intensity of her shapeshifting and the screams of her victims.

His boots creaked as he shifted his weight, and he growled under his breath. If they were going to stay this close to land, he needed to walk, and this ship didn't have enough room for the pacing he needed to exert his pent up energy. "Pull ashore," he ordered, keeping an eye on the sandy beaches as the ship turned and cut through the waves to the beach. Several hundred yards off the beach, he leapt into the small rowboat strapped to the ship's deck and rowed in to the shore with two other men designated to accompany him.

Impatiently, he leapt from the rowboat before it had crested the waves and trudged through the wet sand onto the land. He generally preferred the ocean to the shore, but he was restless and out of sorts. He didn't understand what was going on in his mind and his irrational desire for the woman he'd taken as a prize. Always retaining control over his emotions, and even his lusts, he felt helpless against the tug he felt toward the black-haired beauty. That, in turn, angered him, and he scowled as he stalked into the jungle, not caring if his men were behind him or not.

* * *

Finally, Red began bathing, wringing out the tangles in her hair and combing her fingers through her ebony locks. Scrubbing her skin as best she could, she felt clean for the first time in the weeks she'd been trapped at sea. Soon, she knew she must climb out of the pool and continue on her way: whatever way that was. Without the pirates, she had no clue where to go. Remembering the night before served her with the memory that she was stranded on an island. Unless she intended to steal a ship and get away without so much as a crew, then she was stuck here. The realization was worse than being stuck on a pirate ship. No one from her life knew she was here, and she had no hope of being rescued. The appropriateness of the port's name seemed a bit too coincidental right now.

Diving to the bottom of the shallow pool, she gathered a handful of sand and burst through the surface, using the rough sand to scrub her skin. She scoured her skin until she felt raw, and rinsed herself off in the cool water beneath the shining trees. She could stay in this pool for the rest of her life, just become part of the water, but she knew that wasn't realistic. Maybe if there was a fairy around, it would be a reality, but she didn't want that for her life. She needed more adventure than that.

Swimming toward the shore, she pressed her bare feet into the soft sand and pushed herself out of the water. Her heart stopped in her chest as she realised she wasn't alone. Grabbing her dress, she shielded her naked body and spun to see Hook standing a few yards away, watching her with a mixture of surprise and desire. The open lust in his eyes made her heart leap before embarrassment and anger rose in her throat.

He'd been trying to get alone, so wrapped in his thoughts he hadn't realized he was about to run headfirst into a pool of water until the splashing of the water against the sand caught his attention and he stopped. That was when he saw her. Her porcelain shoulders were bare above the water, and her black hair was stuck to her back. She was just emerging from rinsing and rose from the pool, her perfect body rising from the liquid like a naiad.

His first thought was his imagination was getting the best of him. He'd been thinking about her far too much since he'd released her the night before, and it didn't surprise him that he saw her now. But he knew he was awake. He stared, his mouth gaping open before he caught himself and stood silently admiring her. Her body curved smoothly from her breasts down to her round bottom, and he found himself wondering what her skin would feel like beneath his fingertips. He wanted to plant his mouth on her and lick the softness.

Then she heard him and spun, a miriad of emotions flickering across her face in the flash of a moment. Her cheeks reddened, and suddenly, she grabbed the nearest weapon and threw it at him. He ducked just in time to miss a coconut smacking into his face. Scowling at her, distracted by the fact she was naked behind the dress, he managed his characteristic smirk and moved toward her.

"What kind of pervert are you? Have you been standing there the whole time just watching me bathing?" she asked exasperatedly. She was highly aware of her nudity as he moved closer to her, and she wished she could just slip her dress on and be done with it. Unfortunately, women's clothing wasn't quite that simple.

"I regret to admit I haven't been here the whole time, just for the end of the show," he remarked, watching with amusement as her cheeks grew darker and she glared at him.

"At least have the decency to turn around while I put my dress on," she commented flatly, her voice breaking as she tried to control herself. The nearness of him was almost more than she could take, but she stubbornly stared him down as he paused only a few feet from her.

"But I have no decency, love," he noted, his mouth drawing up in an amused smile as he took another step closer.

"Stop," she commanded, holding up a hand but finding her resolve crumbling. She shouldn't be imagining what his weathered hands would feel like against her skin. She shouldn't be imagining burying her face in his neck, breathing in the sandalwood and leather that lingered on him like a cologne. Closing her eyes for a moment, she gathered herself and opened her eyes to see him closer than he was before. "This isn't..."

"Appropriate?" he concluded, shrugging slightly. "You're right, but you're a free woman now, and we're alone." His closeness was tangible to her now, and she gripped the purple dress so tightly her knuckles turned white. She could see the flash of lust in his blue, dark-lidded eyes, and her heart beat wildly in her chest. Each drop of water that dripped from her body to the ground was like a drumbeat in her ears as she became enraptured in his gaze.

"Just because we're alone doesn't... make it right," she concluded, her voice quiet and weakened by his nearness.

Lifting his good hand, he gently brushed the side of her face, pushing her wet hair back behind her ear. She wanted to close her eyes and lean in to the feel of his calloused fingers, but she watched him instead. Her green eyes boldly examined him as he admired the softness of her skin and looked at her. Damn, her stubbornness only made him want her more.

"What would make it right?" he asked, equally as quiet. He wanted her, he knew that especially now, and he could barely contain himself. Shifting his weight, he felt the curve of her hips through the fabric she held between them like a shield.

She wondered how she could be so aroused by a man who continually reminded her how much of a scoundrel he was. He was the captain of a pirate ship. She was a girl who lived with her granny and turned into a wolf when the moon was full. They were nothing alike, yet they were so similar it scared her. She'd gotten to understand him while on his ship (whether she liked it or not), and she was reluctant to admit they were very alike indeed. They were both stubborn and headstrong, and she knew by the look in his eye that he wanted her. She'd seen that look before when men looked at other women, but she'd never seen it so intensely focused toward her.

As he pressed his hips into hers, she lost part of her control and a gush of air released noisily through her lips. "If I loved you... that would make it right," she managed to answer, remembering that she hated this man. Her lust for him didn't make her hate him less for treating her like a piece of property.

"You don't love me?" he asked, feigning surprise as a smile passed over his lips. She glared up at him.

"This isn't a game."

"I never said it was," he replied. Without allowing another word to exit her mouth, Killian circled his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in to kiss her on her lips. A wave of heat seared through him, setting his nerves on fire as he roughly claimed her mouth. His brain rang with sensual overload as he felt her kiss him back. At first, it was unwilling, but it turned into a desperate, searching thing. Her hands continued to hold the dress between them, and her fingertips stretched up to brace herself against him as he leaned against her, pushing her back into a nearby tree.

His hooked arm encircled her back, and she gasped as the cold metal connected with her skin. He smiled and kissed down her jawline, hearing her moan with satisfaction as he nipped at the most sensitive areas beneath her ear.

"Stop... stop," she urged, pushing against his chest until he stumbled away from her. He looked at her in confusion and a bit of irritation as she shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Not like this. I don't even..."

"Say it," he commanded, his anger at being denied rising in his tone, "You don't even _like _me."

Her eyes told him all he needed to know, and she didn't have to repeat the words. He wanted to scream at her that he didn't give a damn if she liked him or not, he just wanted to fuck her, but he didn't. Instead, his right hand clenched in a fist and he ground his teeth together. Turning away from her, he stepped back toward the beach where his crew and rowboat awaited him, but he stopped and turned to look at her.

"You're a fucking tease."

Red's mouth fell open at the foul language, and she stood up tall, clenching her fists around the fabric in her hands. "How dare you! You treat me like a possession and ignore me after the one sincere moment we've shared, and you expect my legs to fall open for you?"

Killian glared at her, every muscle in his body on edge as he tensed at the words. "I am Captain Hook!" he cried, jabbing a finger at her through the air, as if that explained it all.

"Oh! Excuse me! I forgot you're the almighty captain who takes whatever, and whomever, he pleases," she barked angrily, her cheeks flushed. "I'm sorry to break it to you, but I don't belong to you, and I'm not one of your whores who will beg you to screw her."

His eyes flashed dangerously, but he didn't move to hit her as she half-expected him to do. Instead, he seemed distracted by something on the ground. He stepped toward her, and she tensed, expecting him to strike her or grab her, but he ignored her and picked something off the mossy ground. As he stood, she recognized the ruby in his hand, and her heart fell. He stared at it with a blank expression on his face, and she wondered what he was thinking.

Why had she kept it? Why hadn't she dropped it in the ocean the first chance she had? She was smart enough not to put it back on, but she hadn't discarded it. Some subtle thought came to his mind as he stared expressionlessly at the jewel. She could have made her shackle disappear forever, but she held on to it. Gripping the gold necklace in his hand, he sighed and turned away from her, walking off into the forest with the necklace.

Confused by his sudden calm, Red hastily pulled her dress on and cinched it up her back, racing to catch up to him. He hadn't gone far, and she caught him easily, grabbing his arm to stop him just beneath the treeline. She had never been afraid of him, and she wasn't now even though she thought he may have just come close to killing her. She couldn't know without being able to read his mind, and she didn't want to know what he was thinking.

"Are you going to leave me here?" she asked, worriedly.

Hook snorted and looked down at the necklace in his hand. "You're free now. You can starve to death in the forest for all I care," he snapped heartlessly.

"What about your precious pelt?" she asked, a challenge and a hint of hurt in her tone. His blue eyes raised to look at her, and she couldn't read the mixed emotions there.

"I could force you, but you would resist. It would be this constant struggle between us, and honestly, I don't have the energy for it. I have no desire to play this game with you," he admitted in a low tone.

"I'm not playing a game. You're the one who kidnapped _me_, intending to skin me and sell me for your own gain. I'm not the one at fault here," she retorted defensively. She was disturbed that he would attempt to place the blame for this whole situation on her.

"I never said you were, and I would still do it if I had the chance," he said, his eyes sharp as he looked back down at her. "I'm a pirate. We don't have hearts. We run only on desire and gold. It's as simple as that."

He was lying, and she knew it. She'd seen something else in his eyes right before he'd kissed her, and it wasn't only lust. He had a soul. It was deeply hidden beneath the layers of salt and sand he'd used to protect himself from pain, but it was there.

Hook turned from her and moved toward the rowboat once again, but she grabbed his arm. She didn't know why she stopped him, but she couldn't bare the idea of being alone on this island with her only future becoming a barmaid in one of the taverns in the town (if she ever made it back to town alive through the wilderness). He didn't balk from her touch, but instead, he sighed and stood looking away from her. They had reached an impasse. If she went with him, she would become his prisoner again and the awkwardness of the kiss would always hang between them. If he left her, she would surely die anyway.

When she released his sleeve, Killian looked over at her, seeing the defeat in her eyes. She knew he hadn't conceded his intent to turn her into his profit, and he saw no other option. That was all she had ever been to him: a pelt for gold. Feelings weren't part of the deal. He couldn't cope with the probability of emotions, and he wouldn't.

"Kissing you was a mistake," he stated simply, a wall rising between them once more. Red lifted her chin and looked at him, her eyes examining his motives as he spoke. Part of her disagreed with him - she had enjoyed kissing him even if it was the wrong place and time - but she also knew he was right. Even if she was free now, she wasn't really free. He had told her that much when the ship had first docked at the Port of No Hope. His crew was free to roam the shores and get their pleasures, but she belonged to his ship. That remained true even if he'd freed her for the night. He had required her help to save his own life, but she had nowhere to run.

She supposed he had known this all along, from the moment he'd removed that necklace. Her hope that he had a heart had soared, only to be shot down when she realized he was right: he only desired wealth and satiating his personal lusts. That was what the kiss was really about, she told herself. It was about him proving he was in charge, proving he could make her want him even through her hatred. That realization steeled her against him, and tears rose in her eyes at the hopelessness of it all.

"I was never truly free," she stated, a tone of question in her voice.

Killian smiled sadly. She was wrong; he had truly intended to let her go, but he hadn't been able to do so. The thought that he would sail away on his ship and never see her raven hair appearing out of the hold again tore him in half whether he liked it or not. Not willing to lower his defenses and let another woman into his heart, he raised the icy walls around his heart once again and flicked his eyes toward her, hardening his gaze against her.

"No, you were never free," he answered simply.

Her eyes shined with tears she fought back, and she set her jaw firmly, grinding her teeth together to keep from crying. The walls were back between them, and the positions of master and possession were firmly reestablished. Reaching toward his hand, she snatched the ruby necklace out of his grip, and he watched her as she lowered the chain around her neck.

The burning pain of her power suppressing itself made her wince and a hiss escaped through her clenched teeth, but she opened her eyes to show nothing but firm defiance. "Let's get this over with." She walked past him, expertly twisting so she didn't touch him as she stalked off across the sand toward the rowboat which would carry her back to her prison.


	6. Chapter 6

Life aboard the pirate ship resumed as usual. Every morning, Red was presented an option of two dresses from the pirates' treasure stash (which she still hadn't found), and each day consisted of goodhearted training from the crew but icy silence from their captain. She overheard talk of their travel, but hadn't figured out where they were headed and where she would die. Hook had made it clear that she meant nothing more to him than the money she would bring him after she was dead and he sold her pelt on the black market. So she steered clear of him, and he did the same. The tension in the air between them was palpable, and it made her so uncomfortable, she reacted instantly. If she'd been able to pay attention to him past her own insecurities and embarrassment over the kiss they'd shared, she would have seen his equal uneasiness in her presence.

Killian's unease announced itself in more volatile ways, however. He allowed the crew more stops ashore at various pirate ports on the continent. Every time, he would bring groups of wenches aboard, and Red knew it was to irritate her. Unfortunately, it worked. He attempted to forget her with many faces and bodies, but he couldn't fully erase her from his mind. He still felt her soft, silken skin beneath his fingertips, her hard lips pressed into his proudly, her gasp when he'd kissed her neck. The thoughts of her aroused him, and served to piss him off, and he forgot by fucking whores and drowning his mind in alcohol. None of it worked, and left him with a hangover and a bad attitude, but he didn't care. It was his only outlet since the wolf-girl had so openly admitted her hatred of him.

They would never move past this point of owner and trophy; that would always be their way. He didn't know what he'd expected, but the stony silence only made him long for the trading port where he could finally be done with her.

A month went by this way, and he knew his crew had begun picking up on the tension between their master and guest. He growled with agitation that he'd been so obvious. If his crew knew his unease, he hadn't done his job at being their cold-hearted leader. He was their example, and all they'd seen was a lovesick boy. He was overreacting, of course, but his guilt imagined all varieties of imaginary situations in his head. He pictured his crew staring at him whenever he was in the same room as the lass, and he imagined them whispering about his desire for her behind his back. It was a vicious cycle - his guilty inability to be done with her - and it left him with sleep circles under his eyes and a nasty attitude.

The sun set on the horizon as Killian stood at the helm watching the ocean rippling apart for his ship. He loved the sea - the waves, the rocking on the boat, the smell of salt impregnating the air - and it was the only thing that calmed him. Leaning on the protective railing which ran around the entire outer rim of the ship, something glinted out of the corner of his eye, catching his attention.

His breath caught in his throat as the woman came into view, her slender frame dressed in a yellow dress which glowed golden in the setting sun. Since she watched the dying rays of the sun, preoccupied, he watched her out of the corner of his eye. Her raven hair pulled back away from her face, falling in soft curls down her back and around her shoulders. Although her eternal complaint about the clothing offered to her was that none of the dresses were red (something Killian purposely did to peeve her now that he knew of her attraction to the color), the gold looked amazing on her. Her black hair stood out boldly against the lighter color, and the gold made her blue eyes shine with an otherworldly beauty that took his breath away. How he wished he could shut off his attraction to her.

Finally, as if some heavenly force had switched off a light, the sun fell beneath the horizon and the night went dark, leaving him with only an outline of her back illuminated by the lanterns swinging on the deck.

As Red stood watching the ocean turn black, she felt his eyes on her, but refused to look at him. She was probably only imagining it anyhow, since he'd forcefully been ignoring her since that day on the beach. The breeze blew her hair away from her face, and she closed her eyes with a sigh. All of the emotional stress being on this ship was becoming too much for her. There was the matter of Hook, first and foremost, and then her hurt at him admitting she was nothing more than his treasure. She wasn't a human being, and at best she was just another woman for him to bed, and the truth of that hurt her more than she cared to admit.

She watched him over the past few weeks aboard the ship, silently cringing and ignoring her jealousy as he paraded his whores in front of her every time they made port. But she also saw how he cared about his crew, how they loved him, and she knew there was a soul within him deep down inside somewhere. A heartless man didn't win such love if he didn't deserve it.

So wrapped up in her thoughts was she that she barely heard the cries of the crew before her eyes snapped open.

"What's that in the water?!" someone said behind her, his voice coming out in a shriek. Turning, she saw the men clustered around the port side of the ship, pointing at the water and prancing nervously. She couldn't see through the crowd of bodies, but every once in a while a flash of light, similar to lightning, lit the ocean and sent the men clambering away from the ship's railing.

The first victim's scream hadn't released into the night before he was hauled overboard in a flash of blue light.

Her heart squeezed in fear within her chest, and Red froze as the man disappeared into the water. The pirates yelled and ran from the side of the ship, but a few more were grabbed as quickly as the first. Chaos erupted on the deck, and something within her told her to run, but she remained glued in place. She trembled with fear of this unknown assailant, and she found her eyes searching for the captain.

He stood on the stairs leading from the bow to the main deck, his eyes wide in shock and disbelief. From his vantage point, he must have gotten a better view of the mysterious attacker, and his face showed his fear. He masked it well as he realized she was looking at him, and for the first time in weeks, he met her gaze. Her heart beat rapidly, a mixture of excitement intermingled with the fear, but she remained stuck in place. Hook broke the gaze first, racing down the stairs to calm his crew and freeing her to take a breath. She had to get a handle on herself.

Backing up against the railing, she gripped the wood and took long, cleansing breaths. The mayhem on the deck was contagious, sending her into a panic.

"Calm down," she ordered herself, forcing her lungs to take deep breaths of air. A few more screams echoed around the deck, and her eyes snapped open to assess the situation. She longed to run below deck and huddle into the supply crates, but something kept her pinned to the boards.

As she examined the deck, her eyes fluttered over Hook again, and he caught her watching him. His jaw set, and he turned toward her, determined to confront her and force her down below. His crew had gone wild, some of them had disappeared and were probably dead, and he wouldn't lose her too. He stalked toward her, caught up by the men who'd begun shoving one another to get to the safety of their quarters.

Suddenly, a spark of electricity ran up her spine, and she cried out as a chill coursed through her. Her eyes widened with shock, not knowing what had attacked her, and she saw Hook's eyes widen in fear as she began to rise from the deck. The world was in slow motion for a moment as the crew turned to see her levitated from the deck, paralyzed so she couldn't even kick against whatever had her.

As suddenly as the spark had happened, she abruptly wrenched backward, screaming from the pain. The last thing she saw as she fell overboard was Hook's face, aghast with horror.

* * *

Red woke with a start, gasping and feeling around. The ground beneath her was stony and uncomfortable. At first, she thought she was in pitch blackness (perhaps this was what the afterlife was like), but she realized there was a faint glow emanating from shells which ran around the walls surrounding her. The faint trickle of water from a natural spring echoed around the enclosed chamber, and her wolf's sense was just strong enough through the spell that suppressed it that she picked up a general layout of her prison.

She was in a cave, not entirely closed in by the sound of the water trickling away and dying off to her left, but large enough that she couldn't imagine the end of it. The layout of the glowing shells on the walls was so particular, almost as if someone had decorated the walls. She couldn't imagine the room forming itself in such a manner without the guiding hand of a sentient being. Once again, it seemed she was a prisoner. Her fingers reached up and found the ruby at her neck, dead in this dark cave, caressing it and realizing she may prefer one sort of confinement to another. No, she didn't wish to remain a prisoner on the pirate ship, but this dark, enclosed space made her skin crawl. She itched to see sunlight or at least the moon, but she couldn't even tell the time of day in this underground prison.

As she looked around, assessing the situation, a soft blue began to fill the cave. Remembering her mysterious kidnapper and the blue flashes of lightning, she tensed and gripped her skirts for comfort. The light built until it was too powerful for her to look upon directly, and then it died, revealing a beautiful, but deadly, female.

Her hair was as blue as the light that now glowed softly around her, and her skin was a lighter shade of the same color. She was dressed in a shimmering outfit that reminded Red of a mermaid's scales. However, she had two feet and walked perfectly fine on the water-kissed rocks that littered the bottom of the cave surrounding the stone slab where Red perched. The woman was tall and devastatingly beautiful, so much that Red found herself instantly jealous of such magical beauty. Nothing about her appearance was frightening, until the woman looked up at her.

A shiver ran down Red's spine as those evil eyes, so filled with hatred that it rolled off of her, and she tried to look away but found she was petrified by that stare. When the woman laughed, the spell was broken, and Red shook her head, a wave of worrisome fear creeping over her.

"Do you know what I am?" was the first question. It was such a peculiar way to start a conversation that Red's fear was momentarily alleviated by her confusion.

Glancing over at the creature, she almost answered mermaid, but stopped herself. Obviously, she was comfortable in water and was the same beast which had swept her overboard into the ocean without so much as a fight. Unfortunately, Red wasn't versed extensively in magical monsters and people.

The look of perplexity on her face must have been obvious because the woman smiled darkly and moved toward her so fast their faces were inches apart before Red could suck in a breath of surprise.

"Better question: do you know _who_ I am?"

"It's becoming apparent you don't want an answer to your questions since I obviously don't have one," Red remarked, her fear turning into irritation now that she'd found her bearings.

The female's eyes flashed an electric blue, and Red fell back onto the stone slab with a cry as the sensation of drowning rushed through her body. She couldn't breathe and felt as if she was being crushed by the weight of the ocean. Writhing in pain, she gasped as the sensation passed and looked warily over at the woman. Gliding toward her, the creature smiled benignly and brushed Red's hair back from her face.

"You may not know me, but I know you. Or at least, I know _of_ you," the woman explained, standing and gliding around the stone where Red lay recovering from the electric shock. "You see, I have a little bone to pick with your good friend Prince Charming. He killed my sister."

Memories began to fill her mind through the haze of pain from the near-drowning. That was when she realized she did know what this creature was, or at least she had a very good idea.

"The Lady of the Lake," she managed, pushing herself up on her hands and watching the blue woman carefully. "She was your sister?"

Nodding, the deadly female glided around the pedestal once more, keeping her gaze trained on Red as she rounded the cave. "Indeed. I am a naiad, the most powerful naiad now that my dear sister is gone. Your prince deserves to pay for murdering her."

Red laughed. It wasn't intentional, but it happened. She figured the combination of emotional and physical stress over the past few weeks added up to make her a bit insane. The look of anger on the female's face clued her in that another attack was coming only moments before she found herself tongue-tied and pinned back to the stone as another magical current rushed through her. It felt like drowning and being crushed simultaneously, driven by the rage of the naiad. Clawing desperately at the air, she was paralyzed by the sheer force of the magic. Just as she thought her lungs may burst, the wave passed and left her trembling on the pedestal. She clenched her teeth and sighed loudly as she remained on her back on the stone.

When the woman leaned over her, glaring angrily, Red stared her down. "The waterboarding isn't going to work. I mean nothing to Charming. He's my friend and nothing more. If you really want his attention, there are better fish to net." _Like Snow_, she thought to herself but didn't say aloud. She would never betray her friend even if it could mean saving her own life.

The woman shrugged and meandered toward the cave wall, leaning against it lazily as Red struggled to sit up again. "You're wrong; you do mean something to the man. However, I suppose you're right, although it's fun torturing you all the same. Besides, if I can't have the prince, I can always have the pirate captain as a conciliatory prize on my way to kill him."

Her heart leapt unwarranted in her chest at mention of Hook. Narrowing her eyes, Red watched the woman. "I hate to be the one to tell you, but I mean nothing more to the pirates than the gold I'm worth, which I'm sure isn't enough for them to risk their lives to find me. You should just kill me now and get it over with."

"Oh, I might!" the naiad chirped pleasantly as she rounded behind Red and materialized suddenly beside her, causing her to suck air. "I'll probably kill you along with the rest of them when they arrive, but men taste so much better than women. You're such a bitter lot."

Grinding her teeth, Red flexed her fingers to get the feeling to return to them. She shook her head. "They won't come for me. Trust me, it's not worth it."

She thought of how Hook had avoided her since their kiss, how he'd pranced wenches on and off of his ship to rub his disdain for her in her face, how he'd openly admitted she meant nothing more than gold and sex to him. The memories burned her, and she ground her teeth together, looking down at her hands as anger rose in her chest.

"Part of you knows he will," the naiad argued quietly, gliding to the stone and sliding onto it by Red's feet. Pulling her feet away from the creature, Red glared at her. "Don't lie to me, girl. I can read your emotions, your thoughts, and you think about him often."

"You don't know what you're talking about," she disputed, shifting her weight so she was farther from the naiad. The direction this conversation was taking made her uncomfortable. "I'm worth nothing more than gold to him, and even if he did come for me, it would only be to kill me. Since that seems to be my fate, no matter the situation, you should just get it over with. I tire of waiting for my inevitable death."

Red fumed, her feet drawn up beneath her as she glared at the naiad. The creature merely smiled and drifted off of the stone, watching Red with a curious expression.

"Your suicidal tendencies would lead one to believe you feel you deserve death," the naiad observed, floating over the surface of the shallow water as if her feet never touched the ground. Red flinched away from her as a sharp finger touched her chin. The naiad easily turned her face despite her fight, and she was looking into those malevolent blue eyes. The creature's beauty was only a mask for her hunger, for her hatred. Her revenge had grown so powerful, she saw every human as a threat although the heart of her hatred was against the prince. Red knew she wouldn't make it out of this alive, especially if the pirates did, by some twist of fate, track her to this cave. The beast would kill every last one of them, draining their souls until nothing remained.

"I'm not suicidal," Red argued, trying to pull her face away but unable to do so. "I'm just tired of everyone threatening to kill me and no one actually doing it."

The naiad laughed, a tinkling sound that made her skin crawl. "You are a brazen thing," she remarked, looking back into her prey's eyes, paralyzing Red with that gaze. "I see the true reason you don't believe the pirate will follow you, or rather, the reason you hope he won't."

With a dark smile, the woman released her, but now she had captured Red's attention, however unwilling it may be. "You wish for death, however subconsciously," the naiad explained, floating around the room with her audience's attention fully trained upon her. "Because perhaps Hook isn't the real monster after all." Suddenly, the naiad was directly behind her, her breath cold on Red's neck. "The real monster is you."

Closing her eyes, Red cringed against the words and the cold air which sent painful shivers down her spine. The truth in the revelation hit her like another wave of the naiad's watery magic, and she forced herself to suck in a long breath so she knew she wasn't drowning again.

"It's true; I've seen it in your thoughts, in your emotions. You've already killed one man you loved, what if you killed another?" the naiad conjectured, her voice light and airy as she revealed Red's deepest, darkest secrets. Her deadly blue eyes trained on the human girl once more as she continued relentlessly, "You have the potential for the greatest love of your life with the pirate, but why allow yourself to indulge when you could simply lose him just as you lost Peter."

His name brought back a wave of sorrow she hadn't been expecting. She could still see his face, and she'd even begun to remember spotty patches of the night he had died. She saw the fear in his eyes, but thankfully she couldn't remember his actual death. That would have killed her. The guilt she felt over that night, over the death of her former love, was so intense that it crippled her. Her heart ached painfully at the memories, and she struggled to recompose herself. Her weakness was precisely what the naiad wanted. She preyed on emotions instead of physical strength, and the effect was far more disabling.

"You know Hook isn't the real monster. You've seen the fear in his eyes, seen the terror you put in him when he saw the real you. It's similar to the fear in Peter's eyes the night you _killed_ him. He may be a pirate, but you are the true monster. Pirates kill for reason, but you... you kill for pleasure. "

"Stop... please... don't do this," Red begged, her throat thick with tears she refused to shed. "I don't love him. He doesn't love me. You're right: I am a monster. Kill me, please." She'd been broken for weeks after Peter's death, and that familiar pain enveloped her like an old friend. Gripping the gold fabric of her dress, she took deep breaths, but the tears came anyway. Quietly, tears rolled down her cheeks as she tried to regain her control.

"Your denial is astounding, but you forget I can see into your heart. I know you are falling for the man, and by the way he looks at you in your memories of him... he is falling as hard for you."

"Stop it!" she screamed, wanting to throw herself at the naiad but finding herself held in place as if her hands were shackled to the stone. Looking down frantically, she realized the naiad's magic had her chained to the stone, watery cuffs powerfully holding her on the pedestal. Angrily, she glared up at the creature, her tears running off her cheeks and dripping into her lap.

"Shhhh," the naiad cautioned, her eyes flashing hungrily as she floated toward Red. "Do you hear that?"

Befuddled by the sudden turn, she tried to listen but heard only the sound of running water. "Listen..." Then she heard it.

The sound of footsteps splashing in the recesses of the cave, originating from what must be the distant entrance to the lair.

Panicked, she looked around for the naiad only to find the creature had disappeared. Left alone in the dimly-lit cave, Red desperately searched for something to save herself and the pirates she knew had found her. They were walking to certain death. Opening her mouth to scream, to yell at them to get out while they still could, she managed barely a squeak.

Fear blossomed in her chest, her heart beating wildly. Somehow, the naiad had stolen her voice. She couldn't so much as warn them that they would die because of her.

Then she saw him. The dim blue light of the room illuminated Hook first as he slid under a low wall and stood, his eyes focusing on her immediately. The unwarranted relief she felt at seeing him was only outdone by the chilling fear she felt that he would actually have come to find her. He didn't hide the relief he felt at finding her, as he would if his crew could see his face, and he moved toward her as more pirates began entering through the hole in the wall.

She opened her mouth to tell him to leave, to demand he leave her and save himself, but no words would come. Her tongue wouldn't cooperate, and only a small whine left her throat as she wanted to scream and cry with frustration. Hook advanced across the room, standing beside her pedestal. His green eyes gleamed in the blue light of the cavern, and her heart beat wildly in her chest at that look. None of the cold-hearted pirate was in that gaze, only a heartbreaking satisfaction at discovering her.

The naiad's words rang in her mind as she watched him impotently. _You are the true monster_. Although they'd both fought their budding emotions valiantly, the effort was hopeless. They were falling for each other, and they may not be in love already, but the potential was there whether they admitted it or not. She definitely couldn't hate him when she saw the earnest relief in his eyes at the sight of her.

His good hand reached for hers, touching her hand and sending a wave of pleasant fire through her wrist. "You're okay," he muttered, almost to himself. "Come, I'll get you out of here."

Shaking her head vehemently, she tried to tell him to leave her, but she couldn't speak. He reached for her, his brow furrowing as he noted her reaction, but it was too late. Before he could touch her again, a sparkling blue light illuminated the room, drawing the attention of everyone gathered.

"How nice of you to come," cooed the naiad. Hook was riveted on her, her beauty more overpowering for a man than a woman. Red tried to reach for him, tried to stop him from being taken in by the spell, but it was hopeless. Without her voice, and her hands shackled magically to the stone where she sat, she could only sit and watch as she lost her only savior.

How ironic her savior, the man she was falling in love with, would be the one man she'd spent her every moment actively hating for the past months. She had hated him with a dedication borne of denial. She wanted to hate him for presuming to own her, to sell her, to kill her, but she'd known since the night they danced that he wouldn't. She hadn't admitted it to herself because it was easier to hate him, but she'd seen it then. She'd seen it again the night he'd released her, and then when he'd kissed her. The naiad was right, Hook was falling for her, and their mutual denial had been too strong to push through. She'd allowed her inhibitions about his lifestyle deny her what the naiad had said could be the greatest love of her life.

And why? Because the naiad was right about another thing: she was a monster. She had killed Peter, and she had loved him. Without her cloak, she'd been incapable of resisting, and she'd killed him without a second thought. Deep down, she felt she didn't deserve the love of her friends or even her family; she was unworthy of love from people who would never dream of murdering another person in cold blood.

Killian found himself wrapped in a warm, blue light. He moved away from the stone, forgetting his reason for being here in the first place. Red could only watch in horror as the naiad's spell overtook him, and he drifted toward her, unaware of the danger he was in.

The woman was beautiful, her blond hair shimmering around her round face, and her eyes, wow, her eyes. They were full and blue, sparkling with an addictive sort of magic that drew him toward her. Still, he didn't fully trust her, and he resisted, remembering he had a reason for being here.

"Who are you?" he asked, a hint of suspicion creeping into his tone.

"Don't you recognize me?" she asked, her voice familiar. When he blinked, Milah stood before him, her brown hair curled down around her face and down her back. She was dressed as he'd last seen her, with her black pirate outfit on, and his heart swelled in his chest. He missed her, but then he realized that wasn't the right word for how he felt about her. He had missed her once, but now he only felt a mild ache where she'd once been. Something else had filled that void and had begun healing the pain.

"Milah..." he answered, stopping in his relentless steps toward her. Her brow drew down in upset as he stopped.

"Haven't you missed me, my love?" she asked, the hurt in her voice almost too much for him to bear.

Shaking his head, he smiled wryly and huffed out a breath. "I did... I've wanted to kill that bastard ever since he tore your heart out, taking a piece of mine with it."

Milah smiled, pleased with his answer. He continued, "But you're gone. I have no way to get you back for the underworld is a place even I can't go. I have moved on without you."

Her face dropped, flashing a dangerous emotion for just a brief moment. Then she smiled again, a brilliant smile. "Perhaps this..."

Her body shimmered, and suddenly she changed into another familiar face, and his heart leapt in his chest.

"This is better?" she asked in the wolf-girl's voice. Her green eyes bore into him as they did every day, challenging him and forcing him to reconsider everything about his existence.

Unconsciously, he took another step toward her, lost in the brilliance of her beauty. She was similar to Milah, but she was so drastically different. Her hair was darker, and her body was much more slender and delicate. She was intelligent and she defied him, resisting him where no other woman had before. Part of his attraction to her was purely based on that resistance. Another part of him wanted her for the challenge she posed for him: she wouldn't fall into his arms just because of lust or desire. She wanted him to woo her, wanted him to prove he could be a lover and not a man who would demand affection from her. And she made him desire to work for her affection not to just take it because he had the power to do so.

"Ruby..." he answered, his voice merely a whisper.

Red's brow drew down in confusion. She saw the magical projection of herself, she saw how Hook was drawn to it more than the other woman she'd seen before, but bewilderment crossed her as she heard the word from his lips. Ruby. What did that mean? It wasn't her name; he didn't even know her name. He had always called her 'wolf-girl' at least where she could hear him.

Then her hand reached for the talisman she still wore around her neck, and her chest constricted. Was the nickname his personal joke about the collar he had placed around her neck? Her ire threatened to rise, but she thought better of it. The way he'd spoken the name, so full of desire and care, she knew it wasn't a bitter joke on her behalf.

He began walking toward the naiad once more, reaching for her, and Red's heart beat with a wild panic. She looked around hastily, trying to get the attention of one of the crew, but they were as enraptured as their captain, surely seeing visions of their own loved ones in the naiad's projection. Free of the spell, Red could see the creature's bloodthirsty fangs and her eyes aglow with hunger for these men and their blood. She ached to be free of her bonds, to somehow attack the beast even if it would do little more than afford the pirates a chance to escape, but she was powerless to react. She was reduced to watching as the one man who could save her - from this current imprisonment and from a much more symbolic prison over her heart - was drawn in by the beast's spell, toward his certain death.

"I..." began Hook again, his words trailing off as he drew near his Ruby.

"Shhhh, there is no need for words. Just come to me, Killian," she whispered fervently, her green eyes full of her desire for him. It was like the day he'd found her in the jungle, her hair dripping wet and her naked body shielded from him by her dress. She seemed so small, but there was a part of her that was always large and in charge of what happened in her life. Even as a prisoner on a pirate ship, she maintained control over her existence, and he admired her for her spirit.

"Kiss me," she begged, her voice so desirous and desperate that he wanted her instantly. He was only inches from her now, and he could see the want in her eyes just like that day on the beach. He reached for her, feeling the smooth curve of her hips beneath the fingertips on his right hand. Wrapping his left arm around her, he smiled as she felt the coolness of the hook on her back and gasped pleasantly.

As he leaned toward her, she reached for him, and he became heady with her nearness. Just before their lips could touch, he paused and held her inches from his face. "You said my name," he pointed out, his voice thick.

She smiled up at him even as impatience flickered over her green eyes. "It's a perfect name," she amended, moving to kiss him. He held her back, leaning away from her to get a better look at her face. His cool never faltered.

"I've never told you my real name."

A flash of panic crossed her eyes, but she recovered expertly. "I've heard the crew say it, silly." She giggled as if the comment was the silliest thing she'd ever heard. He smiled benignly, still holding her as he looked into her beautiful face. Too beautiful, too perfect.

"The crew doesn't call me by my real name...silly," he corrected gently, his tone taking an edge. She looked up at him, floundering for an excuse, and tried to push away from him, but he held her fast.

"The only way you could know my real name was if you could somehow read my mind," he commented easily. The woman in his arms twisted to release herself from his grasp, but he held her too tightly.

"Of course not. That's ridiculous. Let me go, and I'll explain," she corrected.

"I don't think you're who you say you are," he hissed, pulling her so close he was whispering in her ear. Before she could open her mouth to argue, he sank the hook on his left arm deep into her back.

A scream shattered the room, breaking shells from the walls. Blue light flashed, temporarily blinding them all, and the cave rumbled dangerously. The power holding Red's hands to the stone was suddenly gone, and the steady trickle of water she'd heard in the cave broke, spraying wildly out in the room and soaking them.

"Hook!" she cried, leaping from the stone and running to him where he slumped to the floor. Beneath him lay the naiad, her blue eyes still glowing as she died. She looked up at Red and smiled as water ran out of her mouth instead of blood.

"My fatal... mistake..." she whispered. Her eyes rolled up into her head and her body turned to water, dropping the pirate onto the floor in a torrent of water. Rushing to his side, Red lifted his head out of the water, but he was unconscious. His proximity to the scream and the flash of light must have overcome him, and he'd been knocked out by the release of the naiad's life force.

"Hook...Wake up..." she urged, pulling him into her lap. Water began rising around her, and she knew they would drown if they stayed in this room. Already, the pirates clambered out of the cave, escaping through the hole where they'd entered.

With a start, his eyes snapped open and he spewed water from his mouth, glancing around frantically. When he saw her, he leapt away from her agilely, his green eyes assessing her critically.

"It's you..." he confirmed, and she nodded. Already, her feet were ankle deep as she rose to face him.

"It's me. That was a naiad, and I thought she'd killed you," Red admitted, suddenly uncomfortable. They hadn't been alone since that day in the jungle when they'd kissed. Although the water was steadily rising in the room, she didn't know how to react. Her desire to flee was strong, but there remained so much unexplained between them that she didn't know how to leave. If she left, they may just return to what they'd been for weeks, and she didn't want that.

"Ruby?" she asked suddenly, at least needing him to explain that one thing before they melded back into their roles of hating one another.

He smiled, knowing she had heard him and unable to deny it. Stepping toward her, his boots splashing in the swirling water, he reached for the ruby at her throat and lifted it in his fingers. "It's a little nickname I concocted for you in my head. I thought of it that night when I freed you to become the wolf," he admitted, looking into her eyes. She knew he wasn't lying; he had no reason to lie now. "My Ruby..." he muttered, almost shyly, and her heart melted.

"You weren't going to kill me, were you?" she asked, her throat thick with emotion as she watched him. He shook his head and smiled sadly.

"I couldn't. Not after the way you came to save me even though you hated me. That kind of compassion..." he drifted off and glanced away as he searched for the words. "I lack greatly in that area."

Red giggled and shook her head in disbelief, "You have no idea." They both laughed, and then suddenly, he grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him. Instantly, she looked up into his eyes in the dim light the remaining shells cast on the room.

"When I thought I'd lost you again... my pride lost the battle. I needed you with me, and it ate me from the inside: the idea that you were gone for good."

"Now isn't really the time for confessions," she pointed out, the water swirling up to her knees as he held her firmly against him.

"I know, but I needed you to know," he admitted, releasing her, "In case... in case things went back to the way they were. In case you still hate me."

Brushing past her, he led the way to the exit which was now filled with water. He paused by the hole, glancing back to look at her. To his surprise, she grabbed his arm and pulled herself to him through the rushing current, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him. It was a desperate, searching kiss, a kiss of surrender. She knew she was falling for him against her own will, despite herself, and she needed to feel him again before they both swam out of this room and into the unknown beyond. He held her strongly against him, returning the kiss powerfully and running his hands into her black hair even as the current built to the point he almost couldn't hold his own weight against its force.

Pulling away from him, she sighed and lowered herself into the water, eyeing the hole where the water gushed through into the caves beyond. "Lead the way, captain." She eyed him challengingly, and he smiled, taking her hand and ordering her to hold her breath as they dove into the water and allowed the current to carry them out of the small room.

As they swam, Red pondered what would happen now. Finally admitting her feelings for him, and hearing his confessions to her, somehow made their dynamic harder. His pride over being a cold-blooded pirate remained powerful, and there was still the matter of the talisman around her neck. Was it only a symbol of safety for the crew now? Or would it remain her shackle once they were back onboard and his crew was watching? Her worries mounted as they swam powerfully out of the cave and into the sunlight. Was she wrong to allow a pirate into her heart, and Captain Hook of all pirates? Was he wrong to move on from his past of bedding whores and stealing treasure to allow Red to heal his soul? With sunlight came the fear of the unknown.


	7. Chapter 7

Ruby sat up in her bed, a sharp intake of breath the only signal that she was awake. Her green eyes snapped open and she glanced hastily around the room, noticing the sunlight beginning to stream through the windows. Throwing her long, slender legs over the side of the bed, she held her head in her hands and sighed. A shiver ran down her spine as the remnants of her dreams faded away, and she ran her fingers back through her black hair as she stood and looked at herself in the mirror.

Dark circles shadowed the underside of her eyes, and her skin seemed pale. Thankfully, no one had noticed, so she ignored it and pretended she didn't look like she hadn't slept in days. Honestly, she hadn't. Since Emma broke the curse over Storybrooke, life had been hectic to say the least. Her closest friend, Snow, was whisked away through a strange portal before Ruby could really catch up with her. She had no one to talk to other than Granny and that Belle girl, but she was so busy with the library and her strange relationship with Mr. Gold that Ruby didn't have the will to pursue another friendship. Perhaps if it didn't involve Rumplestiltskin, or Mr. Gold, or whatever he was called nowadays, then she would bother, but right now she didn't have the energy.

Granny seemed to notice her fatigue, but she remained silent about it. The old woman keeping silent about anything was practically an act of God since Granny never kept her opinions to herself, but she either didn't notice or didn't care in this situation. Everyone had enough to worry about as they remembered their past lives in conjunction with the craziness of their lives in Storybrooke while they were cursed.

But Ruby had other things to worry about than the things she'd said or done while under the curse.

Pulling on a red satiny corset top over her head, she tightened it and layered it with a black sweater which rested gently over her pale shoulders. Tugging her jeans on over her hips, she leaned on her elbows in front of the mirror and decided she was too tired to worry about too much make-up. Lightly powdering her cheeks, she settled for a gentle red to highlight the natural rosiness of her lips and braided her black and red streaked hair in a side braid which twisted behind her ear and rested on her shoulder.

She'd dreamed about him again last night, and she couldn't get it out of her mind, even after her morning routine was finished. Opening the top drawer of her dresser, she dug through the clothing until her slender fingers touched something cool and smooth. Withdrawing it, she slipped it beneath her clothes and shut the drawer.

"I'm going out," she called to Granny as she took the stairs two at the time down through the lobby of the inn and into the cafe. Granny eyed her suspiciously, but waved her off, knowing nothing she could say would stop her granddaughter from exploring if she wanted. Ruby had been openly devoted to helping the townspeople find their lost loved ones since the curse lifted, and she daily asked Charming if he had found a way to rescue Snow and Emma.

Today, however, that meeting would have to wait. After weeks of restless sleep, she couldn't delay the inevitable any longer.

She moved swiftly through town, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jeans although it wasn't very chilly out. Her boots clicked on the sidewalk as she ambled along, watching her feet.

"Going somewhere in particular, dearie?" asked an all-too-familiar voice, bringing her up short.

Directly to her left stood Mr. Gold, his cane in hand, watching her from the doorway to his pawn shop. She glared at him for a moment, remembering the words Belle had confessed to her about him, but resolved to smile at him anyway. "Nowhere that would concern you, I'm sure," she responded curtly, shrugging noncommittally.

"Of course, of course. I don't mean to pry..." he answered, drawing out his syllables in that mysterious way of his that made you want to listen to him even as you ached to run. "Just helping to keep the town in order, what with the barrier and all."

"Last I checked, the prince was the acting-sheriff," she retorted, her delicate eyebrows raising as she fixed him with a challenging glare.

Gold smiled, his gold tooth glinting devilishly in the sunlight. "Of course he is. I merely intend to lend a hand, to prove I'm not all bad."

"I'm sure you do," was her simple response as she turned and started off.

"Careful, Ruby! Don't stay out too late," he cautioned, a hint of mocking in his tone.

He was still a powerful magic user, and he couldn't be too pleased with her after the way she'd talked back at him when he'd searched for Belle a few weeks before, but she couldn't say that she cared. She was too consumed with her current mission to care much about what anyone else was doing today. It seemed selfish, but she hadn't thought about herself since the curse was broken. She'd thrown herself into helping everyone in town, helping Charming, and worrying about whether Snow and Emma were gone forever. She hadn't thought about the one thing that now saturated her dreams.

She reached the flower shop before she expected, and she glanced blankly up at the sign before entering, sneezing delicately outside before holding her breath and pushing through the door. Since the curse was lifted and her wolf senses returned to her, she realized she really kind of hated flowers.

Pulling her hand away from her face once she was inside, she searched the dark recesses of the room until her eyes landed on a familiar red cap. Hastily, she walked to it to find it abandoned by its owner. Frustration rolled over her, and she glanced around, coming face to face with the shop's owner, Belle's father.

"Maurice," she stated flatly, a weak smile on her face. The imposing man, wider in girth and taller than her, had always intimidated her a bit. His recent attempt to send his own daughter through the deadly barrier of town didn't help her to trust him much, but he wasn't the reason Ruby was here.

"If you're looking for William, he's in the basement," Maurice grouched, pushing past her to water some plants.

"Um... thanks," she managed, smiling awkwardly and heading toward the door to the basement. Apparently no one came to visit the older man anymore. Or perhaps William had anticipated her arrival and voiced it to his current boss. Either way, she didn't dwell on it as she descended the stairs into the dark, damp cellar.

Memories of her time on a pirate ship rushed back to her and took her breath away, a lump swelling in her throat she had to swallow heavily as she continued to climb into the darkness. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she steeled herself and looked around the room. She spotted him the same moment he saw her, leaping up from his seat excitedly. Unsure how she'd expected him to react, she was relieved he was overjoyed to see her.

"Red!"

"Smee!" she cried, hastening to him and throwing her arms around him in a bear hug. He squeezed her so tightly she thought he may break a rib, and then he released her, holding her at arms' length to get a good look at her.

"I must say, I prefer the dresses, but this suits you too," he admitted playfully. She laughed and stepped away from him, glancing around the room at the metal contraptions he had in varying stages of disarray.

"Taken to metalworking?" she asked curiously, examining the screws and gears and shining metal objects littering the table where he worked.

"Just tinkering. Have to keep my mind on something," he admitted distantly. The lost sound in his voice wrenched her heart, and she sighed, looking down at her hand where it rested on the table. Without turning to face him, she spoke in a small voice, her heart in her throat.

"Have you seen him?"

It was a simple question, but Smee instantly knew her meaning.

"Nay, lass. Neither hide nor hair."

She closed her eyes, forcing herself not to cry. Just because he wasn't here didn't mean he was dead. Emma and Snow weren't here, and she refused to believe they were dead. They couldn't be. If they were... she didn't want to think of the consequences.

Turning to face the small man, she attempted a smile and failed as her lips quivered and her tears threatened to fall again. "What if he's gone?" she managed weakly, a single tear defying her by spilling over onto her cheek. She plopped down on the stool where he'd been working, too exhausted to admit her worries aloud.

Smee shook his head vehemently and crossed the space between them, wiping the tear from her face and gently gripping her elbows to get her attention. "He's not gone, lassy. I won't believe that. He is a pirate after all!" He declared it with such faith that she gasped out a single laugh, more tears escaping her eyes. Smee dried them and stared at her intently until she met his gaze.

"But what if he's dead... It's all my fault..." she choked, sobs gripping her throat. The small man hugged her as she began to cry, rubbing her back and attempting to soothe her.

"It's not true, Red. I won't believe it's true. None of this is your fault."

"But it is!" she cried, pushing him away and standing from the stool. "I'm the reason he left. I'm the reason he wasn't there when Regina released the curse-"

"Stop beating yourself up over this," Smee chided, not moving toward her as she turned to look at him. "The cap makes his own decisions. He always has. He's a stubborn one, that one."

She laughed cheerlessly and wiped her face, feeling her eyes swollen from the tears she'd promised herself she wouldn't cry. Smee smiled a small, sad smile as he swung his legs back and forth where he perched on the stool.

"He's too stubborn to die, and you know it," Smee concluded. Ruby nodded, not wanting to admit her doubts since the first mate seemed so determined to believe Hook was still alive. Still, she couldn't forget the gnawing fear in her stomach, a fear that told her she had lost him forever.

* * *

The situation on the pirate ship brightened considerably after the events in the naiad's lair. Sitting at the stern of the ship, Red hung her feet over the side and dangled them over the churning wake at the rear of the vessel. Resting her arms on the railing, she allowed herself to forget the worries she'd had over the past month. She still required that the pirate prove himself to her if he truly did need her as he'd professed when they were alone in that cave, but remembering his words made her heart dance excitedly in her chest. Smiling to herself, she twisted and peered over her shoulder, seeing the crew participating in a fake sword match. They were always challenging one another, but Hook was undoubtedly unmatched in sword-fighting. She could only imagine what he'd been like with two good hands.

Standing smoothly, she crossed the rear deck and leaned against the wall of the crew's quarters, watching the sparring match. Each man gained his opportunity to battle their captain as the challenge progressed. Some men were hopelessly outmatched and easily beaten, but others were quite skilled with the sword. Some chose the knife instead, deftly dodging the strikes of the longer weapon. But they all walked away losers. Even after defeating half the crew, Hook appeared only mildly winded, and she was amazed by his stamina. Sweat beaded on his brow, but his eyes glinted with the thrill of the fight. He had shed his black jacket long ago, and his silken black shirt clung to his sweaty skin in some places, outlining the muscles hidden beneath.

Unfortunately, the entire scene did little for the sexual tension she already felt whenever she was around him, and Red excused herself as Hook defeated his final opponent. He saw her turn and leave as he wiped his brow and took a long drink of fresh water. He'd been unable to talk to her directly since that day at the cave, but he had arranged for her to have her own room. The hold was no place for her any longer. As the crew dispersed to their various duties, he excused himself and followed her. He had to approach her or he never would, and he couldn't bear the idea of them returning to their stagnant point of miscommunication.

When he knocked lightly on the door frame of her chamber, he found her sitting on the edge of her bed, her fingers caressing the ruby around her neck before she started at his arrival. Rising hastily from the bedside, her eyes swelled excitedly as she recognized him. His hair was damp from his sweat, and the way his shirt practically blended into his skin made her breath come short. Forcing herself to focus as he fixed her with his mischievous smirk, she raised her chin and eyebrows and crossed her fingers over her waist.

"Is there something you need?" she asked in a business-like tone, hating the way she sounded in her own ears. She could feel her walls raising again, threatening to push him away as the fear of the naiad's wicked words coming true picked at her.

Hook shrugged and stood from where he leaned against the door, wiping his hands with the towel he'd used to mop off his face. Setting it on one of the crates that served as a night table, he moved toward her, and she stiffened with inexplicable anticipation. Surely he wouldn't try to kiss her again here where they were relatively exposed, where his crew could see him giving in to his affections for her. But she found herself desperately hoping to feel his lips again, and her heart beat rapidly in the interim.

"I wanted to show you something," he admitted, stepping toward her. He was perfectly at ease in her presence, and she felt foolish as she blushed when he grew near. She'd confessed to him once that she didn't want to sleep with him because the time wasn't right, because she didn't love him. But she couldn't hide the open interest she had in him now, especially after their confessions in the cave, and she felt like a hypocrite. He didn't notice her discomfort, or ignored it, and he reached out for the ruby talisman hanging around her neck.

His fingers brushed her skin as he lifted in the jewel in his hand and looked up into her green eyes. How beautiful those eyes were.

"Take it," he ordered gently. She examined him with her penetrating gaze for a moment, searching his motives, before she reached up and gingerly took the talisman from his grasp. Before, if she tried to move the gem, it remained firmly fixed in place. Only her captor could move it, and he'd clearly pointed this out to her more than once.

Her breath caught in her throat as the gem felt weightless in her hand, moving freely as she marveled at it. Realizing what this meant, that she was no longer his property and it was her choice to wear the ruby or to remove it, she sucked in a breath of relief. Impulsively, she wrapped her arms around his neck and threw her weight against him, hugging him tightly around his neck.

Surprised by her reaction after the tremulous awkwardness that hung between them since he'd killed the naiad and rescued her from its lair, he timidly wrapped his arm around her and then held her tighter as she leaned into him. Feeling her relief relaxed him, and he held her, allowing himself to enjoy her closeness. They stood like that for a moment before she realized she was clinging to him and released him with a clearing of her throat.

"Thank you..." she whispered fervently, looking down at the stone and up at him, her cheeks flushed with contentment.

"Of course," he responded easily, smiling slightly.

They stood closer than two people should, the fabric of her green dress rustling around his knees as she shyly looked down at her necklace. Unable to take it any longer, he placed his hand beneath her chin and pulled her face up so she was looking at him. As soon as their eyes locked, she felt her throat clench up as emotions overpowered her. She'd opened herself to this possibility with him, and his releasing of her from the spell which trapped her meant the world to her. It meant he trusted her, and he was willing to let her go if that was what she wanted. However, that trust made her want to stay with him in a way nothing else could.

Instinctively, her hand reached for him, resting on his upper arm, and her lips parted slightly as she tried to find something to say. His eyes smoldered longingly, and this time she didn't see only lust there. She didn't see the raw animalistic hunger in his eyes that she'd seen on the beach, and her heart fluttered wildly in her chest.

"Killian..." she mumbled, and the sound of his name on her lips (her real lips, not the twisted replica of her he'd seen in the naiad's den) forced him to confine the growl of pleasure that sound brought to his ears.

"Ruby," he replied, and she smiled so suddenly he smiled back at her instantly. "What is it?"

She shook her head, her black curls bouncing around her face. "Nothing, it's just... that name. I like it." She smiled happily up at him, not moving away from him like she had the last time they'd been this close.

"It's just between us though," she confided, raising her eyebrows teasingly. "It's... special that way."

The adorable way she confessed to wanting to share something so simple with him made him feel like a fool, but in a good way. He'd never been willing to just stand and stare at a woman the way he wanted to do with her. He'd always jumped directly into sleeping with them, and he'd never found a woman he appreciated just for her. Until Ruby, his Ruby.

His hand brushed a curl of her black hair away from her cheek, wrapping the curling tendrils around his index finger. His thumb found her cheek, and he outlined the curve of her skin as she watched him intently. The way she so boldly watched him, since the day he'd first realized she was a woman and not a wolf in the hold of his ship: it urged him to respect her and admire her strength. He hated weak people, women in particular, and Ruby was anything but weak.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he whispered thickly as his face began gravitating toward hers.

"It's about time." He smiled as she lifted onto her toes to meet him. This kiss was different than every kiss they'd shared before. This time, there was no surprise to it. It was mutual, both parties meeting halfway as only they could find acceptable. It wasn't rushed and frantic as their other kisses had been, but it had a low burning desperateness to it. They both needed this, this shared connection between them.

Her hands found his biceps, and she dug her fingers into his wet shirt as she pressed into him. His hooked hand wrapped around her as she leaned into him, and he held her strongly, his good hand sliding from her face around to the back of her head and burying itself in her thick, black hair.

When she had to pull away to breathe, she released a long, low breath, his nose touching her forehead as she remained pressed to his body. She wanted him so badly now, but a part within her felt guilty for moving so fast. However, she knew if he asked, she would give in. Killian seemed to sense this, and he sighed into her hair as he tilted his head up and kissed her forehead.

"No more kissing. I can't handle it," he admitted, causing her to chuckle as her head rested on his chest. She could hear his heart beating as quickly as her own, and she smiled to herself.

"I want it to be right for both of us," he continued, pulling her away from him so he could see her eyes.

Although she was disappointed, she was also relieved. The pressure was gone, that pressure to somehow impress him after all of the women he'd been with. The pressure of those past lovers alone was enough to make her balk, but he was right. It wasn't right for her. She needed more before she could take that next step. She must trust herself also before she could fully trust him not to break her heart.

With that, he kissed her lightly on her lips again and turned, leaving her alone in her room, her fingertips touching her lips where he'd kissed her and her daydreams carrying her off to wild fantasies about when she would next feel his arms again.


	8. Chapter 8

Her back hit the wall hard, and Red groaned as pain blossomed on the back of her head. She laughed, the bump breaking the passionate kiss between her and Killian. He chuckled and rubbed the back of her head, lowering her feet to the ground and kissing her lips softly.

"We've got to stop sneaking around like this," he noted with an amused smile.

Rubbing the back of her head, she glared playfully up at him. "You're the one who doesn't want your crew to know that you've got feelings for me," she pointed out, raising her eyebrows.

With a smile, Killian rolled his eyes and gripped her around her waist, hoisting her so quickly she shrieked excitedly. Her legs wrapped around his waist as he spun her so his back was against the wall now. The fabric of her skirts engulfed him, and she laughed as he shushed her and kissed her hastily on her lips.

"You're too stubborn sometimes," he remarked, holding her easily as she wrapped her wrists around the back of his neck and eyed him.

"And you're impatient."

"I just want you," he murmured lustily, lowering her so his scruffy face tickled her neck as he kissed her along her jawline. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she felt those fluttering feelings in her stomach and waist, and she braced her arms against him but couldn't find the strength to push him away.

"And I want you..." she admitted in a whisper, her voice weak against his advances.

"Then what's stopping you?" he asked gently, already knowing the answer but always challenging her. Their whole relationship was based off of that challenge, always pushing one another to be better, to prove their worth. It made them both stronger, bolder.

"You already know that answer," she remarked, finally pushing back from him and stiffening her legs so he was forced to allow her to slip to the floor. Looking up at him, her green eyes filled with far too many emotions for him to decipher, she pursed her lips and reached up to touch his lips with her finger. He grabbed a hold of her wrist, and she sucked in a breath, a pleased smile coming to her full lips as he kissed the tip of her finger. It was such a simple gesture, but it was so sexy she felt her throat thicken with her want for him.

"I do, but that doesn't mean I like it," he finally acknowledged, releasing her hand with a mischievous smile.

Red's days were filled with him now. They met in the abandoned passageways of the massive pirate ship or in his chambers after the crew was asleep. They still hadn't had sex, and he'd used every ounce of his willpower to resist her. She couldn't get enough of him, but she felt guilty that she was so physically attracted to him. She wasn't giving herself a chance to get to know him, and she knew the reason. Deep down, she knew if she truly got to know him as a person, the walls around her heart would fully fall and she would fall in love with him. The way she had loved Peter, but this time would be different. If she allowed Killian to love her, if she allowed herself to love him, she admitted she loved him for all of his faults. That would mean she would allow him to love her for the monster she was underneath her human side, and she couldn't handle that. All she could see was the fear on Peter's face, the terror when she'd leapt at him to murder him. It disgusted her and instantly made her back away from Killian as the memories washed over her.

His brow drew down in confusion, but he didn't reach after her. He knew her well enough to know when to leave her alone. He saw the pain in her eyes, but he didn't understand it. She had never explained her misgivings to him, and he'd never asked, but he knew guilt and pain when he saw it. Watching her was like looking at himself in the mirror, except his guilt had long ago been masked by indifference. He longed to know what went on in her beautiful head, but he had never been a prying man. Patience was his tool to decipher people, and he would accept her explanation (if it was forthcoming) when the time was right.

The baser side of his nature wanted to pull her skirt up around her waist and fuck her every time he saw her (especially when she'd come to his room in the middle of the night, teasing him unwittingly), but he respected her enough to deny himself. Recently, he'd settled for masturbating when she was gone, but it was never enough. He was tense and frustrated, but his eyes feasted on her when she was around, and he forgot all of his frustration the moment he felt her luscious lips on his.

"I shouldn't do this to you," she chided herself, bringing him out of his daydreams. She looked up at him with her green eyes full of remorse. "I shouldn't indulge if I can't give you what you want."

He cast a penetrating gaze at her and shook his head. "If this is all I can have of you, then that will have to be enough."

The answer was so simple and romantic, her heart broke to hear it. She wanted to open up to him, confess all of her crimes, but her pride was too strong. What if he turned away from her, too disgusted to want her any longer? Perhaps she was being selfish, keeping the truth from him, but she despised the idea of losing this feeling of being alive that she felt with him.

"I have another surprise for you," he whispered into her ear, making her smile questioningly at him. He kissed her hastily beneath her jaw and then moved, heading for the deck. "You'll see soon." He winked and then was gone, leaving her to straighten her clothes and to get her thoughts in order.

Slumping back against the wall, she sighed heavily and shook her head. It really couldn't be as complicated as she was making it out to be. It shouldn't be so hard. If she could just cross that hurdle, just tell him that she was a mass murderer and he should hate her instead of looking at her the way he did, then she would be free. No talisman could ever bind her the way she'd bound herself: holing herself off from the world for fear she would hurt someone she couldn't protect from herself.

The cry of "Land, ho!" jolted her out of her thoughts, and her heart leapt. She raced for the staircase and onto the deck to see a gleaming city of gold on the shore, the sight of which took her breath away instantly. It was a pile of glistening treasure for her eyes, built up on the land a mile from the ship. Unlike the Port of No Hope, this place was obviously a bustling metropolis, and she knew this was the trading port where Killian had originally intended to sell her pelt. Now that that issue was far behind them, she didn't fear this place, but instead instantly fell in love with its mad beauty.

When she was able to tear her gaze away from the city, she searched for her captain and found him smiling slightly as he watched her. The rest of the crew gaped at the city, missing the exchange between the captain and the lady. Ruby smiled shyly, knowing this was the surprise he'd promised her only minutes before. This time, she would be allowed on land, and she would be with him. There would be no other women, she knew by that look in his eyes, and she could share the beauty of this place with Killian. Romance couldn't get any better than this, she mused.

The ship docked amid a plethora of other ships, some smaller and many others quite larger. Sails rocked in the wind and bells chimed on the docks, signifying each individual ship with her own ring. Birds cawed above them, and people of all shapes and sizes traversed the city's streets. Ladies glided through the sunset with their flowing gowns, children raced down the streets as they chased dogs and chickens, and men worked their muscles in the dying sun. The ship wasn't moored down long before the pirates leapt down the gangplank and disappeared into the bustling city with bags of their own treasure stashes ready to be traded and haggled and sold.

Ruby found herself alone on the deck much quicker than she'd expected, and she turned to watch Hook descend from the helm with a small smile on his face. He approached her, offering his elbow. "Shall we?"

She smiled happily and wrapped her arm around his, allowing him to show her the magnificence of the city.

They walked the streets until the sun fell below the horizon and the city streets glowed with lantern light. Never before had she walked so much in one day, and still there was so much to see. Killian took her to all of his favorite places - the bayside market where vendors sold pirate trinkets, jewelry, and exotic fish and vegetables traded from every corner of the world, a pub which served the most delicious smoked brisket she had ever tasted, and even a natural butterfly garden where hundreds of thousands of butterflies migrated this time of the year to fill every plant and tree with their sparkling wings - and the entire day was magical. She was as light as air as she walked down the dock toward the ship, leaning her head to sniff a handful of flowers they'd picked before the darkness set in.

Behind her, Killian watched her and smiled to himself. She glowed with her contentment over the day, and he felt that joy himself. Seeing her smiling after making her frown and glare at him for so long gave him a pleasant feeling that was foreign to him. He'd never experienced an honest boyish crush until now, but he could have watched her smile and been perfectly happy. Even if she didn't want to cross that intimate boundary to sleep with him, he was satisfied by her happiness for now. Anyone who'd heard the name 'Hook' wouldn't believe he had it in him to become enamored with a woman, but he was. He was hopelessly infatuated with Ruby, and he shook his head in disbelief as he realized this.

Of course, he couldn't deny that, beneath those fluttery feelings and rosy images, his animal urges still wanted to bed her long and hard. However, he'd survived this past week without pushing her too far, and although he doubted his lusts could resist much longer, he felt he must only hold out for a little while yet.

He was so lost in his hormonal musings that he almost ran into her before he realized she'd stopped at the end of the dock and was staring up at the moon. Its bright silver shape illuminated the clear night sky and reflected on the ocean in a rippling replica. Ruby was outlined against the silver light, standing so still she could be a statue at the end of the pier. Somewhere to their left, soft music floated out of the windows of a pub, making the moment simply magical.

Impulsively, he wrapped his arms around her, his hook pressing into the bodice of her dress as he hugged her gently to his chest. He buried his nose in her hair, smelling its clean sweetness, and sighed inwardly. He'd never been so relaxed and content as he was right now. Ruby leaned back into him, his familiar scent of sandalwood and leather enveloping her. She continued to stare up at the moon, entranced by its silver light. She felt so safe in his arms, but her guilt and worries never disappeared. Running her hands over his wrists, she rested her palms over his hand and hook, her fingers running gently down the curve of the silver hook where it rested on her belly.

Slowly, she turned in his arms to face him, and he looked curiously down at her, his eyes dark and hooded in the moonlight. That smoldering look sent delightful currents of heat rushing through her into the shadowy depths of her body that remained untouched until this moment.

"Killian...today was beautiful," she whispered ardently, her hands resting on his chest, her fingertips curving slightly as they dug into his shirt. A shadow crossed her face as she wrestled with her fears, and Killian wanted so badly to kiss her, but he sensed she needed to speak first.

"But?"

"But... I don't want to hurt you," she answered finally, looking down at the V of his black shirt where his chest peeked through the fabric. Her finger slipped over the hem of the fabric, touching his chest, and she thought he released a gasp of air at the contact.

"How could you hurt me, love?" he asked, the nickname holding so much more meaning now that he actually had feelings for her. She stubbornly refused to look at him, and swallowed heavily.

"If I lose control... I could..." she looked up at him then, and he saw tears shining in her eyes. His brow drew down and he pulled her closer, his hand touching her chin so she was looking up at him.

"You won't. You're not the monster here, Ruby. If anything, you should be afraid of me losing control."

The way his eyes glinted for a moment, revealing some deep dark thought, sent a desirable shiver through her. She shook her head and pushed away from him, needing the space to regain her mind since being close to him made her thoughts mush. _You are the real monster._ The naiad's words continued to haunt her even now.

"I was in love once," she bleated, holding her arms around herself until she realized she looked like she was huddling and straightened her arms so her hands knotted the fabric of her dress in distress. "And I killed him."

Killian frowned sympathetically and stepped toward her to comfort her, but she held him at bay. "I knew what I was doing, and I killed him. The man I loved. I can still see his face..."

A sob escaped her throat, and when he moved to pull her into his arms, this time she didn't resist. Tears ran unbidden from her eyes, pouring down her cheeks and wetting his shirt. He didn't respond; his only answer a soft rocking as his hand ran over her black hair. She could hear his heart beating beneath her ear as he held her to him, and she found her arms wrapping around his waist as she clung to him desperately.

When she was under control of her voice once more, she twisted to look up at him and wiped her cheeks furiously. "When I came to, I saw what I'd done to him... I couldn't live with myself if I did that to you. If I did it once, I'll do it again."

Killian shook his head, "No, you won't. You forget: I've seen you as the wolf. You wouldn't hurt me. I saw it in your eyes."

Ruby frowned at him, swallowing her tears as she examined his face. He was telling the truth, but she didn't understand how he could be unafraid of her. He smiled down at her then. "When you turned, I think you forgot who I was. You turned toward me and growled, and I thought for a moment I was a goner," he admitted with a chuckle. "But something changed in your eyes, and you turned away from me to attack those men. You consciously decided to protect me. I know you did."

A gush of air rushed from her lips, a mixture of relief and disbelief, and she automatically grabbed his face, standing on her tip toes to kiss him deeply on his lips. His arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her slightly from the ground as he kissed her back. She was breathless as he set her on her feet and she released him from the kiss. His eyes blazed hotly down at her, and she felt those deep shadowy places in the pit of her stomach combust once more.

His eyes flashed a question, _Was she ready_? His words had convinced her; she may be a werewolf, but he was right. She had chosen to protect him and hadn't touched a hair on his head that night she'd saved him from the thugs at the Port of No Hope. She had been fleeing from that truth since that night, and she'd allowed the naiad to convince her she was too dangerous to ever love him. But that wasn't true. She had control, and she wanted him.

She wanted him badly.

He recognized the approval in her eyes, and his stomach knotted with his desire to have her. Without a word, he grabbed her hand and pulled her after him onto the deserted pirate ship. The moment they climbed over the end of the gangplank, he released her hand and withdrew the plank onto the boat. The message was clear: he wanted her all to himself with no interruptions. That thought sent delightful shivers through her body, and she found herself biting her bottom lip in anticipation.

Killian faced her, his eyes smoldering as he looked down at her in the moonlight. He grabbed her hips as gently as he could manage and pulled her against him. Ruby gasped as she felt his hard-on press against her leg through her dress. He nipped at her ear with his lips, the stubble on his cheek tickling her jawline and neck. She leaned her head away from him, closing her eyes as she felt his lips hot against her ear. "I want to make love to you," he whispered, and she felt her knees go weak. Her fingers dug into his biceps, and she turned her face toward him as he stood.

Finding his lips, she claimed his mouth, the built up tension over the past months revealing itself in that kiss. He met her with the same intensity, growling passionately against her mouth as they kissed. His hand ran up her back, and he gripped her long, dark hair. Pulling back sharply, he forced her to bend her head back with a gasp. With her chin elevated, he kissed her neck, eliciting a whine of longing from her mouth.

Suddenly, he slipped his hands beneath her hips, hitching her upward so her legs wrapped around his waist and her dress spilled around them. He looked up at her as he carried her the few feet into his massive chambers, and she watched him, her eyes burning with open lust. The moment they crossed the threshold, he dropped her onto the bed with a squeal. Grinning wolfishly, he hooked his hook in the ties on the front of her bodice and snapped them effortlessly. Her dress surged open, and she released a rush of air as another wave of heat ran through beneath her waistline.

He was over her then, his hook tearing into her dress and her hands all over him. She dug her fingers into the lightweight black fabric of his shirt, and ripped it in her rush to pull it away from his skin. Their mouths crashed into one another roughly, his good hand tugging at her hair as he forced her head back once more so his hard mouth could dance along the skin on her neck and chest. Pushing her bodice aside, his mouth fell hot on her breast, and she gasped from the sensation. She felt him smile against her as his tongue played in circles around her nipple.

His boots thundered to the floor as he removed them and shifted his weight so he lay on top of her. The hook slid teasingly over her bare skin, sending a spike of hedonistic desire through her body. Her fingers fumbled over the leather ties at the front of his pants as he released her breast from his mouth, and she pushed them away. She didn't get time to admire his hard-on before he was back on top of her, his hot kisses sending moans of want from her lips. He pushed her legs open and slid between them so abruptly she cried out.

Killian pulled back from kissing her, looking down at her with a flash of concern on his face. He hadn't known she was a virgin, but he felt the resistance the moment he entered her. She clung to him, her head arched back into the bed as she recovered from the initial shock. The feel of her tightness around him made him dizzy, but he was conscious enough to assess her reaction. The second time, he slowed and reentered more gently. Her eyes had found him now, and that challenging gaze had returned, making him mad with desire for her. Although he knew the pain must have been as much of a shock to her as it was for him, he saw her eyes seethe provocatively.

Digging her fingers into his back, she pulled him down on top of her and kissed him deeply. She didn't want him to stop just because of that initial surprise. It had hurt, but the pain was fading, replaced by the more powerful desire that coursed through her. As he entered again, she moaned involuntarily, her back arching against him. He bent so his mouth met her breast once more, and her eyes rolled back in her head as all of her senses went into overdrive. A flash of euphoria thundered through her waist as her body fell into orgasm around him. He groaned in reaction as her fingers dug into his arm and the bed.

"Killian..." she whimpered, and his lips met hers as she reached her climax and clung to him desperately, wanting more. As she crested her peak, his appetite went wild and he rode her hard into the bed until he felt his own release. Her arms entwined around his neck as he fell against her, his breath short as his body jolted with the waves of bliss.

Exhausted, he lay with her for a moment deciding if he had the strength or desire to move. Ruby's fingers ran through his hair and he lifted his head to look into her green eyes. She stared up at him with a small, content smile on her face. Gently, he kissed her lips and she returned the kiss, her fingers twisting through his hair and her chest rising and falling in rhythm with his. She didn't want to stop kissing him, but they both had to breathe eventually, and she sighed sadly as he pulled away.

Pulling out of her sent a pleasurable gasp through her lips, and she squirmed to allow him room to lay beside her on the small bed. Torn strips of her dress littered the floor, along with his ripped shirt. He cinched up his pants and smoothed down her dress before rolling onto his side to look down at her, his hook resting on her belly beneath her destroyed bodice. The metal remained cold despite the heightened temperature in the room, but the heat in his gaze warmed her as she looked up at him.

"You didn't tell me," he stated finally, his voice soft and tender. Biting her bottom lip, she smiled a small smile.

"It never really came up," she pointed out, knowing he meant her being a virgin. She looked down at his hook, her fingers tracing the curve of it where it rested on her bare skin.

"You gave that to me," he stated quietly, his voice a confused mixture of disbelief, fear, and fascination.

Unable to respond, she sucked on her bottom lip and nodded, the corners of her mouth dancing upward into a shy smile. Automatically, he leaned and met her lips. Her anxiety released in that kiss, her fear that she wouldn't be as good as the other women he'd been with, that they would continue to live on in his head as a constant comparison to her: this woman who was so inexperienced and awkward. As before, he seemed to sense her apprehension, and he smiled as he leaned away from her, the fingers of his good hand running through her black curls.

"After everything, I don't deserve that kind of gift from you, Ruby," he murmured almost chidingly. Her eyes were bright and large as she touched the side of his face with her hand.

"You're the only one I want to give it to," she admitted, blushing slightly for the first time in years.

His eyes filled with an unreadable emotion, and he kissed her again before she could question him. His ever-present smell of leather and sandalwood engulfed her, and she breathed in deeply as his lips slowly left hers. Snuggling against his chest, she smiled to herself as she buried her face in the crook of his throat, falling asleep with the smell of the ocean.


	9. Chapter 9

_**I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated! I thank all of you who have stuck with me this long. I hope this chapter will make up for all of the time you've had to wait.**_

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She woke to the tiniest shred of sunlight beaming against her closed eyelid and a slow, low ache between her legs to remind her of the night before. Yawning, she shifted in bed and realized she was alone. Her heart fell with worry that she'd been wrong and all he'd wanted was sex. After everything they'd been through, everything she'd been through to get to this point, and he had betrayed her after all.

Her chest clenched with doubt as her eyes examined the captain's cabin and she pushed herself up to sit in the bed. The doubts slowly began to fade as she noticed the torn fabric of her ruined dress had been gathered and disposed of, and although she remained dressed in the shredded outfit, she was covered with a soft, downy blanket which kept her warm against the chill of the nighttime ocean. Her slender fingers gripped at the fabric and dug in to it as she twisted it nervously in her hand.

Before she could question where he was, the door to the chamber opened and emitted a familiar black-garbed figure, his hook glinting in the shards of sunlight coming through the boards on the walls. Her heart leapt in to her throat, suffocating her, and she felt her cheeks grow hot at his presence. She shouldn't feel so awkward, but she did. Would the light of day change the significance of the night before?

Killian turned and smiled comfortably at her, swiftly settling himself beside her in the bed, his good hand wrapping around her waist and pulling her in against him. He kissed her, taking her breath away until she sighed, relieved, against his mouth. His hook brushed back her unruly black hair, trailing gently behind her ear and beneath her chin as his tongue ventured between her teeth and greeted hers. She smiled against his lips, her fingers releasing the blanket to dig in to his black, silk shirt.

When he finally released her, her eyelids fluttered slowly open and she looked deeply into his eyes. There were no lies there, no ulterior motives, and she blinked trustingly up at him as he shifted and handed her what he'd carried into the chamber with him. Her eyes tore away from him to settle on the brilliant crimson fabric in his hand, draping over her lap. Her jaw dropped open slightly, and she glanced from the dress into his face.

Red. Ruby. He knew red was her favorite color, and she'd never been allowed to wear it onboard the ship, but now it was different. She imagined he had actively gone into town before dawn to find her the perfect dress in the perfect color. She was both Red and Ruby, Ruby only for him, in their world, but this dress would allow her to be both. The crimson caught the sunlight and deepened it, making it rich and full the way she felt when she was with Killian. She felt as if she never had to eat another meal again, as if she was filled to the brim with so much emotion that even food couldn't quench her. Only he could. He was all she wanted, and she knew he wanted the same.

"Do you like it?" he asked, a hint of trepidation in his tone that he covered well by his roguish smile. Looking down at the satiny fabric in her hands, she bit her bottom lip and smiled involuntarily. The fabric was crisscrossed by flourishing flowery marks, a shade darker than the red of the dress so it looked like it shimmered with its own magic when it caught the light. Innately, she knew it would fit her perfectly. He knew her measurements perfectly for he'd explored every inch of her body, and he knew her better than anyone ever had. They understood one another like no one she'd ever met before.

This was what love was like. This was what Snow and Charming had: what she'd always wanted. Now it was hers, and it was accidental, unintentional. She hadn't been trying to fall in love with Killian, and if anything, she'd been trying her best not to. But that was the way things worked sometimes. You got what you were asking for, but in the least expected way.

"I love it, and I love you," Red murmured thickly, looking back up at him with her deep green eyes. His smile turned into a genuine one and she met him halfway as he leaned to kiss her again. He held her face in his hand as he kissed her before his fingers naturally made their way down her neck to the torn gap in her dress. His fingers were hot in the crest of her breasts as they gently drew a warm line down her bare belly. A soft, wanting sigh involuntarily escaped her lips and her eyes flitted open to look at him. A smirk ghosted across the corners of his mouth and he lowered his eyes to his fingers against her skin as goosebumps raised up her belly and a warmth stirred deep down below her waist.

"Time for breakfast, love," he murmured in a husky voice that made her insides clench with wanton desire.

"Is it?" she managed, feeling her mouth go dry as his eyes burned her skin where his fingers made slow, gentle circles around her belly button. Her fingers clenched the red fabric of her new dress until it whined in protest against her grip. His dark eyes looked up into her gaze and he smiled again. Bending his fingers, he ran his hand swiftly up her stomach to her chest, pushing her back on to the bed with a speed that caught her off guard.

The air whooshed out of her lungs as she fell back against the pillow. His hand and hook were instantly beneath the skirt of her ruined dress, pushing it up around her waist as her pupils dilated as she watched him. His black-haired head disappeared beneath the fabric, and suddenly, his hot mouth fell upon her, making her gasp from the sudden surprise and pleasure. Her hips rose instinctively to his mouth as his tongue traced her, sending a ripple of desire up through her. The heat of his tongue and his breath against her, so soon after waking up, drove her upward quicker than she'd expected. The red dress fell out of her limp fingers, and her hands went to his hair, curling into the black locks desperately as he drove her toward the edge. Her hips bucked against him, and she moaned out involuntarily as she crested that peak and crashed down around his tongue. Her eyes rolled back in her head as her body tightened and soared.

When she came back to her senses, her eyes opened to see him smiling victoriously down at her. Narrowing her eyes at him, she pulled him down and kissed him, tasting herself on his lips. Testily, sated but wanting to tease him as was her way, she pushed him back against the bed and pushed herself onto her feet, gathering her new dress and turning her back on him. Pulling open the ruined dress, it dropped down around her ankles and she stepped out of it, her porcelain body completely bare beneath.

She heard his sharp intake of breath and smiled to herself as she discarded the destroyed garment and stepped in to the newly tailored dress. Pulling it slowly up over her hips, turning her head so as to see him out of the corner of her eye, she smirked to herself, feeling his eyes riveted on her curvaceous form as she slipped her arms through the sleeves of the bodice. Turning slightly, she feigned an innocent stare and pouted at him. "Would you mind?" she asked, motioning with her head toward the ties up the back of the dress. Twisting her black hair in one hand, she pulled it off of her neck and over her shoulder so he would have a clear shot to lace up the dress for her.

As he rose, she heard a guttural growl deep in his chest, and she bit her bottom lip to stop from giggling at his frustration. His fingers were surprisingly adept at the ties, and soon enough he was tightening the dress and tying it off using his teeth and his good hand. Dropping the length of the ties, his hand and hook gripped her shoulders gently but firmly as he leaned over to kiss her bare shoulder. It was a simple kiss, but one that heated her, and she turned to kiss him on his temple as his scruffy chin rested against her soft skin. Killian lifted his face and kissed her on her lips, his arms wrapping around her stomach as he pulled her tightly against him.

"I don't want to hide anymore," he murmured against her ear. She smiled and leaned back in to him, grateful for his words. She hadn't wanted to hide before, but she understood his desire to remain strong in the eyes of his crew. As if sleeping with a she-wolf wasn't a sign of a real man...

Before she could respond, his arm was around her waist and he drug her to the door, a squeal of delight and surprise escaping her throat. He drug them out into the sunshine as she blinked furiously against the sudden brightness. When her eyes finally adjusted, she was met with the happy hustle and bustle on the deck. The crew paid them no mind for the most part, as if it was no surprise that their captain had taken the werewolf maiden as his lover. Many of the men had their own female companions to keep them company, or a mug of mead to nurse, or the food the cook had created from the recent restocking of the ship's supplies.

Ruby lost herself in the light air, sinking comfortably in to Killian's arm around her waist and walking with him to the plank. Her stomach rumbled hungrily, and she grimaced slightly as she glanced up at him. Her desire to be back on land overwhelmed her hunger, combining with it and churning into something powerful. As if he sensed this desire, Hook glanced behind them to assure his crew was preoccupied and happy, and he led the way down the plank, offering her his hook to keep her balance as she followed.

The port city already bustled with life as the sun peeked over the horizon and cut through the night to begin a new day. Ruby's fingers slipped between his as they walked, using her free hand to munch. She'd forgotten what it was like to eat so freely, and her appetite was wild from the night and from the simple fact that she was a werewolf and ate more than a normal woman. Giggling as he reached up to wipe crumbs from her lips, she smiled as he took her in his arms and kissed her.

She was caught up in the perfection of it all. This would never be something she would have imagined for herself, but she couldn't have imagined such perfection. Everything about this was the way love should be, something grown and nurtured. Something real.

Killian released her hand when they reached the center of town, and her brow drew down in a frown as she fixed him with her green eyes. He offered her a small smile and winked at her. "Don't worry, Ruby. I have a surprise for you. Don't go too far. I'll be right back."

Raising an eyebrow at him, she nodded and smiled involuntarily. "I'll be here," she promised, taking another bite from the bread in her hand as he turned and disappeared into the crowd of people.

Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes and soaked in the sun as she chewed and swallowed the mouthful of bread. In moments like this, when she was completely alone, away from every member of the crew, she remembered that she missed her friends. Although Granny had been her closest relative and her caretaker her entire life, she couldn't say she thought the older woman wasn't better off without her. She often felt like a headache for her grandmother, someone to be bossed around instead of a potential equal. She desperately missed Snow especially, though. Out of everyone in the kingdom, Snow had always managed to be the most understanding. Granny knew who she was because they were the same, but Snow was not like her. Still, the princess had accepted her and even lived with the wolves in order to bring Red back when she inevitably was pushed too far by her own mother. Snow loved her for what she was, not in spite of it, like many of her friends did. She wasn't a beast in the princess's eyes.

Red missed her friend and her grandmother, even Snow's husband Charming who had become a true friend to her as well. She knew they would be worrying about her, knowing she would never be gone so long on her own. It had been months since she'd been picked up by the pirates, and time had flown by during her imprisonment. But now she was no longer a prisoner. She was an equal, not an outsider, for perhaps the first time in her life. Even in the court, where Snow promised her she was fully welcome, she never truly was.

The other ladies and princesses would never accept her as one of their own. She had wolf blood, she turned into a beast every full moon, and they would not accept her. No matter how much they smiled at her, they would never truly allow her into their lives the way Snow had. She knew this, and she'd grown to accept it, but she'd also grown to hate it. She wanted to be one of them - who wouldn't? - but now she had lost that desire. That want to be accepted had become replaced by a love that was untouched by what sort of blood she had.

From the beginning, Killian had accepted who and what she was. His intentions had changed from the moment she'd first been taken captive, but his feelings toward her had not. He'd always seen her as a wolf first, and he'd desired that part of her. It wasn't a sexual thing, it wasn't even a monetary thing. No, she knew it was an instinctual connection he felt toward a creature that was a 'beast'. He didn't see her as an animal, as a beast, because he was an outcast just like her. He had created his own world of outcasts and she easily fit within it because she was one. They were the same, and they accepted one another.

"Red?!" a voice interrupted her thoughts, and her eyes snapped open as her chin dropped, looking for the voice which had spoken her name. She looked around in confusion before focusing on a face about ten feet in front of her.

Snow's pale face, crowned by black hair and a pure white cowl which rested on top of her dark hair, stared incredulously at her. For a moment, Red believed she was imagining things. Surely her subconscious had conjured an image of her friend thanks to her thoughts. But as Snow recovered first and stepped toward her, her hands wrapping around Red's shoulders as she stared unbelieving up at her friend, Ruby sucked in a surprised breath.

This was real. Snow as real.

"Snow..." she began, unsure what she was thinking or how this could be happening.

"Red! We've been looking for you for months! You're still alive. I thought... I was afraid..." she trailed off, her kind eyes brimming with emotions that broke Red's heart. She'd managed to cause pain and she hadn't even been around.

Snow impetuously pulled her into her arms and hugged her tightly, crushing the air out of her lungs. She stood stiffly for a moment, still shocked, until she allowed her elbows to bend and relax, her hands resting lightly against her friend's back. Closing her eyes for a moment, she felt the conflicting emotions well up within her and she thought she might break in two.

As her eyes opened, she saw him.

Killian stood watching her from across the crowd, just another face to anyone who wouldn't expect him to be present. His dark eyes boiled like the tempestuous sea during a storm, and in his hand he held a blossoming bouquet of red flowers. Her lips parted to emit a soft, broken sigh, and the urge to go to him overpowered her. Snow interpreted this reaction as her relief to be reunited, and she patted Red's back even as a tear welled up in the taller brunette's eye.

Shifting her weight, she moved to extract herself from Snow's grasp, but the slight movement of Killian's head stopped her. His body was tense as his head shook ever so slightly, imperceptible to anyone but her. He was telling her no, not to come to him. His eyes cut to the side, and she followed his gaze to see Charming emerge from the crowd with a broad grin on his boyishly handsome face. He embraced the two women together, making Snow giggle as Red attempted a smile. In truth, her heart was disintegrating into a million pieces.

She searched through the crowd for him again as the Charmings hugged her in unison, but he was gone. Tears rolled freely down her cheeks now. What she'd thought for so long she'd wanted - to be rescued by her friends - had finally come true, only for her to realize it wasn't what she wanted at all.

When they finally released her, she wiped her face furiously and managed a weak smile through her personal misery. "Oh, Red, it's alright. We're here now. I'm so glad we found you," Snow spoke, relief obvious in her gentle voice.

"It's time to go home," Charming stated with his trademark smile. Nodding her head absently, Red excused herself and went instantly to the last place where she'd seen him. He couldn't be far, she promised herself. He loved her. She loved him. He couldn't be gone...

On the ground where he'd been standing lay the bouquet of flowers, their red petals scattered on the ground with no trace of the purchaser or any sign he'd ever existed. Choking on a sob, she scooped the flowers from the dirt and cradled them against her chest. She wouldn't be able to explain her reaction to an abandoned bouquet of roses to her friends, but she didn't care.

"Are you alright, Red?" Snow asked, arriving behind her and looking at the flowers curiously as her hand gently touched her friend's back.

"I'm...fine..." she stammered through her choking sobs. A weak smile crossed her features as she allowed the flowers to drop to her side in one hand. Her green eyes lingered on them for a moment as she composed herself. "I'm fine," she reasserted with more confidence, "Just remembering everything I've lost."

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He watched her as she allowed her friends to lead her away, back to their perfect life where she belonged. He hadn't gone far, of course, only far enough not to be seen. His life hinged on if the prince saw him or not. It was easier to allow Ruby to believe he had deserted her. That was his way, after all. He was a pirate. That sort of behavior was only to be expected.

He didn't cry. In fact, his face didn't change at all as he watched her until he could no longer see even the tiniest sliver of her red dress through the crowd, and even then he stood in his place until the sun was high in the sky and burned his toughed skin. Numbness overtook him as he finally turned and retreated to his ship. Once again the fates had stripped him of a chance at happiness. He'd had it within his grasp, and he'd delivered her right back into the hands of those who believed she belonged to them.

He felt the darkness filling his chest as he climbed on to his ship. His crew seemed to sense it, noticing the absence of the wolf girl the moment he arrived. The wenches were promptly dismissed, and the mead was stowed away as the crew silently took their positions. They knew what was necessary. They knew their captain. The look was in his eyes again, and they would not disobey. The ship would depart at sunset, ignoring the warnings not to sail at dark.

Captain Hook followed no rules but his own.


End file.
